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Ough vs Bough - What's the difference?

ough | bough |

As an interjection ough

is the sound of a grunt or groan or cough.

As a noun bough is

a firm branch of a tree.

ough

English

Interjection

(en interjection)
  • The sound of a grunt or groan or cough
  • *{{quote-book, year=1856, author=John Esten Cooke, title=The Last of the Foresters, chapter=, edition= citation
  • , passage="Ough! ough'! ' ough !" groaned the old woman; "he wants to go, away from the nest where he was warmed, and nursed, and brought up. }}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1874, author=H. S. Caswell, title=The Path of Duty, and Other Stories, chapter=, edition= citation
  • , passage=We strove to extort from him the cause of this ebullition of passion, but he only shook his head in reply to our questions, and uttered a guttural "ough ." }}

    bough

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A firm branch of a tree.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.}}
  • * 2013 , . Melbourne, Australia: The Text Publishing Company. chapter 18. p. 172.
  • A pair of birds settle on the bough above them, murmuring together, ready to roost.

    Derived terms

    * (l)