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homophone

[hom-uh-fohn, hoh-muh-] / ˈhɒm əˌfoʊn, ˈhoʊ mə- /
NOUN
word pronounced the same as another, but differing in meaning
Synonyms
WEAK
homograph homonym


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

But while her lyrics describe situations both grave and dangerous—the record’s title is a homophone for “violence”—her words are peppered with bizarre humor and images that aren’t easy to decode.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The name 99 Ranch Market comes from the lucky number 99, which is a homophone for the word “long-lasting” in Chinese.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

A teacher hoisted a huge sunflower made from dozens of balloons -- the plant's name in Mandarin is a homophone for a Chinese idiom about success.

From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026

But the WHO decided a homophone for “new” would be too confusing.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2021

Brush is a difficult homophone, and it would be useful to have one of its derivative meanings separated off as brish.

From Society for Pure English, Tract 05 The Englishing of French Words; the Dialectal Words in Blunden's Poems by Society for Pure English

In characteristic Midwest American English words such as cot and caught are pronounced as homophones.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

When the principal calls her Melanie, Wang’s heroine adopts three of her Mandarin name’s homophones: Mist, who can be invisible; Basket, carrier of her parents’ dreams; and Blue, her truest self.

From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2021

And I argue that even though he’s world-famous and globally acclaimed, he’s really underrated for the kind of sophisticated nuanced deployment of homophones, metonymy, simile, metaphor, braggadocio, allusion.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2019

Are you good at phrases that incorporate complicated Mandarin homophones?

From The Guardian ● May 15, 2019

When two or more words different in origin and signification are pronounced alike, whether they are alike or not in their spelling, they are said to be homophonous, or homophones of each other.

From Society for Pure English, Tract 02 On English Homophones by Robert Seymour Bridges


Vocabulary lists containing homophone

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