“Taught” or “Taut”—Which to use?

“Taught” or “Taut”

Overview

taught / taut are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

taught: (verb) impart skills or knowledge to. (verb) accustom gradually to some action or attitude.

taut: (adjective) pulled or drawn tight. (adjective) subjected to great tension; stretched tight.

Pronunciation

taught: t·AO·t

taut: t·AO·t

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Examples in Context

Examples of “taught”

He also taught anatomical illustration at a vo-tech
…(1965–67) and Tokyo (1967–70), and taught Future Studies at the Birmingham…
He taught chemistry at St Paul's School,…
…liberal versions of Christianity that taught the existence of internal inconsistencies…
…in New Orleans and covertly taught himself to play cornet against…
…Bible Class at Zion Presbyterian, taught by William Nichol, an elderly
Prior to joining Tulane, Cooley taught at the University of Wisconsin,…
…his brother, in 1662, and taught Hebrew at Cambridge University.
…part of his life, Zhu taught in Eastern China College of…
…science teacher Helmut Pöschel was taught the proper way to make…

Examples of “taut”

…reads: "Director Jonathan Demme's smart, taut thriller teeters on the edge…
…music is sleeker and more taut than anything Hole have done".
…consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a…
…connects two diaphragms with a taut string or wire, which transmits…
…cage, which keeps the fabric taut.
, as in taut, taught and law, was or

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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