How to pronounce caught in American English

IPA /kɑt/ Syllables 1 · kaht Stress 1st syllable

KAHT

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Americans pronounce caught as KAHT (/kɑt/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "caught", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

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Why it sounds different

Why "caught" sounds like KAHT.

In "caught", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as KAHT.

In real conversation

Hear "caught" in the wild.

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"He caught a foul ball hit into the stands."

hee KAHT uh FOWL BAHL HIHT IHN·too dhuh STANDZ

"He was caught red-handed while attempting to steal the car."

hee wuhz KAHT REHD HAN·duhd WAHYL uh·TEHMP·tuhng tuh STEEL dhuh KAR

"The broad audience sought more caught incidents."

dhuh BRAHD AH·dee·uhns SAHT MOR KAHT IHN·suh·duhnts

"The police caught him sleeping on a cot."

dhuh puh·LEES KAHT hihm SLEE·puhng ahn uh KAHT

"The surfer caught a huge wave and rode it to the shore."

dhuh SUR·fer KAHT uh HYOOJ WAYV and ROHD iht tuh dhuh SHOR

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "caught", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

caught→KAHT

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "caught" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "KAHT" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "caught" sounds like KAHT.

Hear "caught" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

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