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

torpedo

UK /ˌtɔː(ɹ)ˈpiː.dəʊ/ · US /ˌtoɹˈpi.doʊ/ noun, verb

Forms torpedoes torpedos torpedoing torpedoed

  1. noun (zoology) An electric ray of the genus Torpedo.
  2. noun (military) A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel quickly underwater and is used as a weapon.
  3. noun (science fiction) A similar projectile that can travel through space.
  4. noun (archaic, military) A naval mine.
  5. noun (obsolete, military) An explosive device buried underground, to destroy fortifications, troops, or cavalry.
  6. noun (Northeastern US) Synonym of submarine sandwich.
  7. noun (slang) A professional gunman or assassin.
  8. noun (rail transport, US) A small explosive device attached to the top of the rail to provide an audible warning when a train passes over it.
  9. verb (transitive) To strike (a ship) with one or more torpedoes.
  10. verb (transitive) To sink (a ship) with one or more torpedoes.
  11. verb (transitive, figurative) To undermine or destroy any endeavor with a powerful attack.

Synonyms

torp fish land torpedo land mine submarine sandwich detonator bifta bifter blunt bogie bomber bone bun Camberwell carrot doink doinker doob doober doobie exotic cheroot gunman gunslinger hired gun gun gun for hire triggerman hit man hitman shooter grinder

Etymology

* Borrowed from Latin torpēdō (“a torpedo fish; numbness, torpidity, electric ray”), from torpeō (“to be stiff, numb, torpid; to be astounded; to be inactive”) + -ēdō (noun suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”). In the military sense coined by Robert Fulton in 1805. Cognate with Old English steorfan (“to die”), Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós, “solid”), Lithuanian tirpstu (“to become rigid”), Old Church Slavonic трупети (trupeti).
* (type of car): From 1908, after "the Torpedo", a car designed by Captain Theo Masui.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes belonging to Torpedo and allied genera. They are related to the rays, but have the power of giving electrical shocks. Called also crampfish, and numbfish. See Electrical fish, under Electrical.
  2. noun An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them up. Specifically: -- (a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel, beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so arranged that they will be exploded when touched by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is closed by an operator on shore.
  3. verb to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo. London Spectator.

Etymology [L. torpedo, -inis, from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid.]

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