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

pitfall

UK /ˈpɪtfɔːl/ · US /ˈpɪtfɔl/ noun, verb

Forms pitfalls pitfalling pitfalled

  1. noun (literal) A type of trap consisting of a concealed pit in the ground, into which the victim is supposed to fall and not be able to get out from.
  2. noun (figurative) A potential, unsuspected, hidden problem, hazard, or danger that is easily encountered but not immediately obvious. “It's usually a simple task, but you should know the pitfalls before you attempt it yourself.”
  3. noun (computing) An antipattern.
  4. noun (mining) Subsidence below ground in a mine, which can cause the ground level above to drop.
  5. verb (figurative, transitive, uncommon) To trap, snare, or ensnare someone or something.

Synonyms

trapping pit trap antipattern dark pattern booby trap pit

Etymology

First recorded use in the 14th century from pit + fall in the sense of "pit trap, pit snare", from Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pōl-. Cognate with German Falle (“trap, snare”).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A pit deceitfully covered to entrap wild beasts or men; a trap of any kind. Sir T. North.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pitfall”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details