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

beltway

/ˈbɛltˌweɪ/ noun, proper noun, adjective

Forms beltways

  1. noun (US) A freeway that encircles a city.
  2. proper noun A 64-mile Interstate freeway surrounding Washington, D.C.
  3. proper noun (mostly local usage) The expressway that surrounds another city.
  4. proper noun (US politics) The US federal government and policy and lobbying organizations, located in Washington, D.C., sometimes with a suggestion of their elitism or insularity
  5. adjective Of or relating to the culture of Washington, D.C., sometimes with a suggestion of its elitism or insularity; politicized.

Synonyms

ring road belt bypass ringway

Etymology

From belt + way.

Extended from beltway (“freeway encircling a city”); compare also highway.

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