Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings
Vowels
| iː | see | ɪ | sit | e / ɛ | bed | æ | cat |
| ɑː | father | ɒ | hot (UK) | ɔː | law | ʊ | put |
| uː | too | ʌ | cup | ɜː | bird | ə | about |
| eɪ | day | aɪ | my | ɔɪ | boy | aʊ | now |
| əʊ / oʊ | go (UK / US) | ɪə | near | eə | hair | ʊə | tour |
Consonants that look unusual
| 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.
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
Results for “Abe”
- abed adverb, proper nounIn bed, or on the bed; confined to bed.
- Abel proper noun(biblical) The son of Adam and Eve who was killed by his brother Cain.
- abet verb, noun(transitive, crime) To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime.
- abeam adverb, adjective, preposition(nautical, aircraft) On the beam; at a right angle to the centerline or keel of a vessel or aircraft; being at a bearing approximately 90° …
- abele nounThe white poplar (Populus alba).
- abelia nounAny of the various honeysuckles of the genus Abelia.
- Abelard proper noun(rare) A male given name from the Germanic languages.
- Abenaki noun, proper noun, adjectiveA member of an Algonquian First People from northeastern North America, mainly Maine and Quebec.
- abettal noun(rare) An abetment.
- abetter nounAlternative form of abettor.
- abettor nounOne that abets an offender; one that incites, instigates, or encourages.
- abeyant adjectiveBeing in a state of abeyance; suspended.
- abelmosk nounThe edible and aromatic seed pods (properly, capsules) of the Abelmoschus moschatus.
- Aberdare proper nounA town in Rhondda Cynon Taf borough, South Wales (OS grid ref SO0002).
- Aberdeen proper noun, nounA port city in Aberdeen council area, Scotland, on the North Sea.
- aberrant adjective, nounDiffering from the norm.
- aberrate verb(intransitive) To go astray; to diverge; to deviate (from); deviate from.
- abetment noun(chiefly law) The act of abetting or assisting in a crime, wrongdoing etc.
- abeyance noun(law) Expectancy; a condition when an ownership of real property is undetermined; lapse in succession of ownership of estate, or title.
- aberrance nounState of being aberrant; a wandering from the right way; deviation from truth, rectitude.
- aberrancy nounThe condition of being aberrant; an aberrance.
- Aberdonian adjective, noun(British English) Of or relating to Aberdeen.
- aberration nounThe act of wandering; deviation from truth, moral rectitude; abnormal; divergence from the straight, correct, proper, normal, or from the n…
- abecedarian noun, adjectiveSomeone who is learning the alphabet.
- abecedarius nounAn acrostic poem in which the lines begin with the letters of the alphabet in sequence.
- abelmoschus noungenus of tropical coarse herbs having large lobed leaves and often yellow flowers
- abelian group noun(algebra) A group in which the group operation is commutative.
- Aberdeen Angus nounOne of a breed of black hornless beef cattle originating in Scotland.
- abetalipoproteinemia noun(pathology) A rare autosomal recessive disorder that interferes with the normal absorption of fat and fat-soluble vitamins from food.
- babe noun, proper noun(now literary or poetic) A baby or infant; a very young human or animal. [from 14th c.]
- babel noun, proper nounA confused noise made by a number of voices.
- caber nounA long, thick log held upright at one end and tossed in the Highland games.
- Haber proper nounA surname from German.
- label noun, verb, proper nounA small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached.
- saber proper nounA surname.
- tabes noun(medicine) A kind of slow bodily wasting or emaciating disease, often accompanying a chronic disease.
- Cabell proper nounA surname.
- seabed nounThe floor or bottom of the sea or ocean.
- diabeta nounan oral antidiabetic drug (trade names DiaBeta and Micronase) that stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas
- Fabergé proper nounA surname.
- labeled adjectiveHaving a label, tagged.
- wannabe noun(informal, derogatory, often attributive) Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an over…
- alphabet noun, verbThe set of letters used when writing in a language.
- babelike adjectiveResembling or characteristic of a babe or infant.
- blaberus noungiant cockroaches
- cabernet nounCabernet Sauvignon, a wine.
- cascabel nounA small, round, hot variety of chili pepper, Capsicum annuum, which rattles when dry.
- diabetes noun(pathology) Diabetes mellitus; any of a group of metabolic diseases whereby a person (or other animal) has high blood sugar due to an inabi…
- diabetic adjective, nounOf or pertaining to diabetes, especially diabetes mellitus.
- glabella noun(anatomy) The space between the eyebrows and above the nose.
- isabella noun, proper nounA pale grey-yellow, fawn, cream-brown or parchment colour.
- labelled adjectiveUK and Canada standard spelling of labeled.
- lie-abed noun(archaic) A person who remains in bed until late in the day.
- mangabey nounAny of several large, arboreal Old World monkeys in the genera Cercocebus and Lophocebus.
- Matabele nounThe Ndebele people.
- mirabeau nounFrench revolutionary who was prominent in the early days of the French Revolution (1749-1791)
- Rabelais proper nounA surname from French.
- Schnabel noun, proper nounThe beak-like lifting component of a Schnabel car.
- slugabed nounA lazy person who lies in bed after the usual time for getting up; a sluggard.
- teaberry nounA berry which is the fruit of a small shrub native to northeastern North America, Gaultheria procumbens (eastern teaberry, American winterg…