sole
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
With independent power.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sohlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsoʊl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
anatomy
The bottom or plantar surface of the foot.
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.
The bottom of a furrow.
The bottom of the body of a plough; the slade.
anatomy
The underside of the foot
The horny substance under a horse's foot, which protects the more tender parts.
adjective
Unique; unsurpassed.
With independent power; unfettered.
verb
Put a new sole on
transitive
To put a sole on a shoe or a boot.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The bottom or plantar surface of the foot.
Used this way, sole is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use sole
- “The sole reason for the delay was a sudden change in weather.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Without any others being included or involved.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Small European sole.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.