homonyms

hom·o·nym

H h

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [hom-uh-nim]
- /ˈhɒm ə nɪm/
- /ˈhɒm.ə.nɪm/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hom-uh-nim]
- /ˈhɒm ə nɪm/

Definitions of homonyms word

noun homonyms Phonetics. a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air; a homophone (def 1). 1
noun homonyms a word that is both a homophone and a homograph, that is, exactly the same as another in sound and spelling but different in meaning, as chase “to pursue” and chase “to ornament metal.”. 1
noun homonyms (loosely) a word of the same written form as another but of different meaning and usually origin, whether pronounced the same way or not, as bear “to carry; support” and bear “animal” or lead “to conduct” and lead “metal;” a homograph. 1
noun homonyms Obsolete. a namesake. 1
noun homonyms Biology. a name given to a species or genus that has already been assigned to a different species or genus and that is therefore rejected. 1
noun homonyms Each of two words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling (e.g., to, too, and two); a homophone. 1

See all 6 definitions of homonyms

Information block about the term

Origin of homonyms

First appearance:

before 1635

One of the 43% oldest English words

1635-45; < Latin homōnymum < Greek homṓnymon, neuter of homṓnymos homonymous

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Homonyms

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Homonyms

homonyms popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 70% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

homonyms usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for homonyms

noun homonyms

homographs — a word of the same written form as another but of different meaning and usually origin, whether pronounced the same way or not, as bear 1 “to carry; support” and bear 2 “animal” or lead 1 “to conduct” and lead 2 “metal.”.
homophones — Phonetics. a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.

All 2 Synonyms of homonyms