bought
/ˈbɔt/adjective, verb
bought is spelled B-O-U-G-H-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 81 times per million words in written English, the 1,302nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, bought means “Compromised by money from special interests; corrupt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bought?
| Letters | 6: B-O-U-G-H-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 81 times per million words; the 1,302nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bought?
Bought appears 81 times per million words in written English, the 1,302nd 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 bought?
- UK /ˈbɔːt/
- US /ˈbɔt/
- /ˈbɑt/
Bought has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bought.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with bought?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bought from its last stressed vowel (/ɔt/):
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 bought
- bout
- bowt
- boughte
- bughte
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bought mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalCompromised by money from special interests; corrupt.
Any senators who vote for this bill must be bought.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of buy.
She bought an expensive bag last week.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA bend; flexure; curve; a hollow angle.
- 2
obsoleteA bend or hollow in a human or animal body.
- 3
obsoleteA curve or bend in a river, mountain chain, or other geographical feature.
- 4
obsoleteThe part of a sling that contains the stone.
- 5
obsoleteA fold, bend, or coil in a tail, snake's body etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate bought?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of bought: bght., bo't.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does bought come from?
See buy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).