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 “Joe”
- Joel proper nounA male given name from Hebrew.
- joewood nounJacquinia keyensis, a perennial West Indian tree.
- Joe Blow proper noun(US, Canada, Australia) Synonym of Joe Bloggs.
- Joe Bloggs proper noun(chiefly UK) A personification of the general public, or of an average ordinary person.
- joe-pye weed nounAny plant of the genus Eutrochium, native to eastern North America.
- Holy Joe noun(informal, slang) A minister, chaplain, priest or preacher.
- Uncle Joe proper noun(informal) Joseph Stalin.
- Little Joe proper noun(gambling, dice games) The point of four in the game of craps.
- sloppy joe noun(US) A hot sandwich, typically composed of ground beef cooked in a skillet with highly seasoned tomato sauce or tomato paste and spread bet…
- 46 proper noun(US politics, slang) Joe Biden, as the forty-sixth president of the United States.
- Abdias proper nounObadiah (biblical prophet)
- Ah prefix, interjection, noun, verb, particleA prefix of Chinese origin used with a shortened form of given names to express familiarity, roughly equivalent to a nickname.
- antagonize verb(transitive) To work against; to oppose (especially to incite a reaction).
- apprentice noun, verbA trainee, especially in a skilled trade.
- bad adjective, adverb, noun, interjection, verbOf low quality.
- bidet noun, proper nounA low-mounted plumbing fixture or type of sink intended for washing the external genitalia and the anus.
- bullshit noun, adjective, verb, interjection(vulgar, literally) Feces produced by a bull.
- ceramic adjective, nounMade of material produced by the high-temperature firing of inorganic, nonmetallic rocks and minerals.
- clock in verb(US) To begin working time, especially by punching in (entering a workplace by punching a time card with the time clock).
- club car noun(rail transport, dated) A railroad car that serves in the manner of a club (lounge), offering drinks, snacks, background music, and sometim…
- combine verb, noun, proper noun(transitive) To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite.
- complain verb(intransitive) To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
- couch noun, verb, proper noun(Canada, US, Australia, Ireland) An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa.
- definitely adverbWithout question and beyond doubt.
- democratic adjective, nounPertaining to democracy; constructed upon or in line with the principle of government chosen by the people.
- domiciliary noun, adjective(law): A person who legally resides in a particular place.
- downsize verb(intransitive) To reduce in size or number.
- drizzle verb, noun(impersonal) To rain lightly.
- fairy tale nounA folktale or literary story featuring fairies or similar fantasy characters.
- Greek adjective, proper noun, noun, verbOf or relating to Greece, its people, its language, or its culture.
- hitching post nounA post to which a horse (or other animal) may be tethered to prevent it from straying.
- hobo noun, verb(Canada, US) A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed …
- homer noun, verb, proper noun(historical units of measure) A former Hebrew unit of dry volume, about equal to 230 L or 6+¹⁄₂ US bushels.
- keep away verb(intransitive) To refrain from coming (near).
- ko noun, proper noun, verb(go) A local shape to which the ko rule applies; a ko shape.
- lockup noun(slang) A jail cell; a period of incarceration in such a cell; a facility containing such cells.
- make-up adjectiveMade-up, false, imaginary, fabricated.
- mechanical adjective, noun(now rare) Characteristic of someone who does manual labour for a living; coarse, vulgar.
- miss verb, noun, proper noun(ambitransitive, physical) To fail to hit, catch, grasp, etc.
- palm tree noun, proper nounA tree of the family Arecaceae usually characterised by having a single stem or trunk, directly from which sprout several leaves or fronds …
- schmo noun(US, slang, chiefly Jewish, derogatory) A stupid, obnoxious, pathetic, or otherwise contemptible person; a schmuck.
- smoke out verb(transitive) To drive out (something or somebody) using smoke.
- sore adjective, adverb, noun, verbCausing pain or discomfort; painfully sensitive.
- tell off verb(transitive, military) To number off (a group of soldiers); to divide up (soldiers) in this way.
- upchuck noun, verb(informal) Vomit.
- upstairs adjective, adverb, nounLocated on a higher floor or level of a building.
- well adverb, adjective, interjection, noun, verb, proper noun(manner) Accurately, competently, satisfactorily.