yore, you're, your

The words yore, you're, your sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do yore, you're, your sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: yore, you're, your are homophones of the English language.

yore
  1. :: noun

    Time long past: days of yore.

you're
  1. ::

    Contraction of you are.

your
  1. :: adjective

    Used as a modifier before a noun: your boots; your accomplishments.

  2. :: adjective

    A person's; one's: The light switch is on your right.

  3. :: adjective

    Informal Used with little or no sense of possession to indicate a type familiar to the listener: your basic three-story frame house.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").