Synonyms

homophones

Cultural

Two words that sound alike. This category includes words that are spelled the same, such as trunk (of an elephant) and trunk (a storage chest), as well as words spelled differently, such as deer and dear.

Example Sentences

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Homophones are words that sound the same but might have a different spelling, a different meaning, or both.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Homophones are often the words that cause the most confusion and the most frequent errors.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Homophones are one pitfall; proper names are another.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2012

Several correspondents complain of the incompleteness of the list of Homophones in Tract II.

From Society for Pure English Tract 4 The Pronunciation of English Words Derived from the Latin by Sargeaunt, John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023