/ɔr/ — the DOOR vowel as in for, more, war, board

Main spellings (~93%)

⟨or⟩ ~80%

The spelling ⟨or⟩ is the dominant way to write this sound.

⟨ore⟩ ~8%

Word-final ⟨ore⟩ is a reliable spelling for this sound.

⟨ar⟩ after W ~5%

After the letter ⟨w⟩, the spelling ⟨ar⟩ makes the /ɔr/ sound instead of /ɑr/.

Other common spellings (~6%)

⟨oar⟩ ~3%

⟨our⟩ ~3%

A subset of ⟨our⟩ words use /ɔr/ instead of /aʊr/ or /ər/.

Unusual spellings (<1%)

⟨ort⟩

Silent ⟨t⟩ — the ⟨t⟩ disappears in these words.

⟨arr⟩

After ⟨w⟩ or ⟨qu⟩, the doubled ⟨rr⟩ follows the same pattern as ⟨ar⟩.

⟨awer⟩

Only "drawer" — the ⟨aw⟩ combines with ⟨er⟩ to make /ɔr/.

⟨orp⟩

Silent ⟨p⟩ — a French borrowing.

/ɔr/ vs /ɔ/