homophone
1 synonym for homophone, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning, and often a different spelling.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
sound-alike
How to use homophone
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
common homophones
homophone error
a pair of homophones
Neutral; standard vocabulary in teaching, linguistics and editing.
Etymology
From Greek homos meaning 'same' and phone meaning 'sound'.
Full origin of homophone →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a homophone and a homonym?
A homophone sounds the same but usually differs in spelling and meaning, like pair and pear. A homonym sounds the same and is also spelt the same, like bat the animal and bat you hit a ball with.
What is the difference between a homophone and a homograph?
Homophones match in sound, homographs match in spelling. Lead the metal and lead the leash are homographs, because they look identical but are said differently.
What are the most common homophones in English?
There, their and they're; your and you're; to, too and two; its and it's. These four sets cause the bulk of everyday spelling errors.
