auger
/ˈɔ.ɡɚ/noun, verb
auger is spelled A-U-G-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,416th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “auger vs augur” about 20 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, auger means “A carpenter's tool for boring holes longer than those bored by a gimlet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of auger is augers.
How many letters and syllables are in auger?
| Letters | 5: A-U-G-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,416th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is auger?
Auger appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,416th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce auger?
- UK /ˈɔː.ɡə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈɔ.ɡɚ/
- /ˈɑ.ɡɚ/
Auger has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-auger.wav, En-us-augur.ogg, En-au-augur.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with auger
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: augur (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with auger?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as auger from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɡəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: argue.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of auger
- augers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- augre
- augering participle, present
- augered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does auger mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A carpenter's tool for boring holes longer than those bored by a gimlet.
- 2
A snake or plumber's snake (plumbing tool).
- 3
A tool used to bore holes in the ground, e.g. for fence posts
- 4
A hollow drill used to take core samples of soil, ice, etc. for scientific study.
verb
- 1
To use an auger; to drill a hole using an auger.
- 2
To proceed in the manner of an auger.
- 3
To daydream.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Auger in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tarière, tarière à trépan |
| German | Holzbohrer , Erdbohrer |
| Portuguese | trado, verrumão |
| Spanish | barrena, barreno, taladrador, taladro, berbiquí , taladrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does auger come from?
From a rebracketing of Middle English a nauger (seen as an + auger), from Old English nafugār (“nave drill”, literally “nave spear”), from Proto-West Germanic *nabugaiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *nabōgaizaz. Cognate with Dutch avegaar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).