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

stopgap

UK /ˈstɒpɡæp/ · US /ˈstɑpˌɡæp/ noun, adjective, verb

Forms stopgaps stopgapping stopgapped stop-gap stuff gap

  1. noun (rare) That which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
  2. noun Something spoken to fill up an uncomfortable pause in speech; a filled pause or filler.
  3. noun A short-term fix or temporary measure used until something better can be obtained; that which serves as an expedient in an emergency; a band-aid solution. “The small company used their old product with a few kludged enhancements as a stopgap until they could develop a new product.”
  4. noun (specifically) A person appointed or hired to fill a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire can be made; a temp.
  5. adjective Short-term; temporary. “They put a stopgap solution in place, but need something more permanent.”
  6. adjective Filling a gap or pause.
  7. verb (transitive) To stop up or fill (a physical gap or hole, or a hiatus).
  8. verb (intransitive) To use something as a short-term fix or temporary measure until a better alternative can be obtained.
  9. verb (specifically) To work at a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire is made.

Synonyms

fillgap band-aid bandaid quick fix band-aid solution bodge cludge fiddle hack hack job jugaad kludge kluge lash-up make-do makeshift patch patch-up put-together quick-and-dirty

Etymology

The noun is derived from stop (“to close or block (an opening)”) + gap, from the phrase to stop a gap. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun, and the verb is derived from the noun.

Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “stopgap”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details