Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

θ	thin	ð	this	ʃ	she	ʒ	measure
tʃ	church	dʒ	judge	ŋ	sing	j	yes

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

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)

-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.

elevator

UK /ˈɛləˌveɪtə/ · US /ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/ noun, verb

Forms elevators elevatoring elevatored

noun Anything that raises or uplifts.
noun (Canada, US, Australia, Philippines) A permanent construction with a built-in platform or cab that can be raised and lowered, used to transport people and goods, as between different floors of a building.
noun (US) A silo used for storing wheat, corn or other grain (grain elevator).
noun (aeronautics) A control surface of an aircraft responsible for controlling the pitching motion of the machine.
noun A dental instrument used to pry up ("elevate") teeth in difficult extractions, or depressed portions of bone.
noun (anatomy) Any muscle that serves to raise a part of the body, such as the leg or the eye.
noun A type of shoe having an insert lift to make the wearer appear taller.
verb (informal, intransitive) To move in an elevator. “He elevatored up to the third floor.”

Synonyms

L., one who raises up, a deliverer: cf. F. élévateur.

noun One who, or that which, raises or lifts up anything; as: (a) A mechanical contrivance, usually an endless belt or chain with a series of scoops or buckets, for transferring grain to an upper loft for storage.

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “elevator”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details