English Word Reference Free

ugh

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

3 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "ugh", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "ugh" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "ugh" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

ugh is anEnglishintj. It means: Used to express repugnance, disgust, or annoyance. Pronounced /ʌɣ/. It ranks #4,993 in English word frequency. Often confused with up and us.

Key facts for ugh
PropertyValue
Headwordugh
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechIntj
IPA/ʌɣ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#4,993
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of ugh in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ugh is 3 letters long, classified as anintj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʌɣ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,993 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for ugh in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "up", "us", "UK", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is ugh, spelled U-G-H, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Used to express repugnance, disgust, or annoyance.
  2. 2
    Used to express inarticulate vocalisations, such as used by a caveman.

This word in other languages

Frequency rank: #4,993 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ugh"?
"ugh" is spelled U-G-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌɣ/.
What does "ugh" mean?
As an intj, "ugh" means: Used to express repugnance, disgust, or annoyance.
What words are commonly confused with "ugh"?
"ugh" is commonly confused with "up", "us", "UK". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ugh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ugh" is /ʌɣ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ugh" come from?
"ugh" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter U in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.