Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

wham

/wæm/ noun, interjection, verb

Forms whams whamming whammed

  1. noun A forceful blow. “Roger was given a violent wham by his boxing opponent.”
  2. noun The sound of such a blow; a thud. “We heard a wham as the hammer struck the wall.”
  3. noun An attempt.
  4. noun A great success.
  5. interjection Used to indicate the sound of a forceful blow, an explosion, etc. “Wham! The truck hit the wall.”
  6. interjection Used to indicate something dramatic, sudden, and unanticipated has occurred. “Our relationship was going smoothly and then wham! Out of nowhere he told me he was leaving me for another woman.”
  7. verb To smash or strike (someone or something) with great force or impact; to slam, to whack.
  8. verb To propel (something) with great force by kicking, striking, throwing, etc.
  9. verb To smash or strike with great force or impact.
  10. verb To move quickly or loudly.

Synonyms

whack whop wallop

Etymology

Onomatopoeic, representing the sound of an object being slammed against something.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “wham”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details