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 “a place”
- Abaddon proper noun, nounThe destroyer, or angel of the bottomless pit; Apollyon;
- abattoir nounA public slaughterhouse for cattle, sheep, etc.
- abide verb(transitive) To endure without yielding; to withstand.
- abjure verbTo solemnly reject (someone or something); to abandon (someone or something) forever; to disavow, to disclaim, to repudiate.
- abode noun, verb(obsolete) Act of waiting; delay.
- absence nounA state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship
- absent adjective, noun, preposition, verb(not comparable) Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; existing but not present; (sometimes) missing.
- academe noun(historical) The garden in Athens where the academics met.
- accept verb, adjective, noun(transitive) To receive, especially with a consent, with favour, or with approval.
- Aceldama proper noun, nounThe potter's field, said to have lain south of Jerusalem, purchased with the bribe which Judas took for betraying his master, and therefore…
- admit verb(transitive) To allow to enter; to grant entrance (to), whether into a place, into the mind, or into consideration.
- admittable adjective(of persons or evidence) That can be allowed entry into a place or proceeding.
- adventive adjective, nounAccidental.
- agora nounA place for gathering.
- allochthonous adjectiveOriginating in a place other than where it is found.
- ambit nounThe extent of actions, thoughts, or the meaning of words, etc.
- Annwn proper noun(Celtic mythology) The otherworld in Welsh mythology, a place of delights and eternal youth.
- apery nounA place where apes are kept.
- apiary nounA place where bees and their hives are kept.
- aplacental adjective(zoology) Lacking a placenta.
- apollo proper noun, noun(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) The son of Zeus and Leto (or Jupiter and Latona), and the twin brother of Artemis (or Diana). He was the…
- appoint verb(transitive) To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement.
- approach verb, noun(intransitive) To come or go near, in place or time; to move toward; to advance nearer; to draw nigh.
- arboretum nounA place where many varieties of tree are grown for research, educational, and ornamental purposes.
- archipelago noun, verb(archaic) Preceded by the, and often in the form Archipelago: the Aegean Sea.
- armoury noun(also figurative) A place where arms are kept, an arsenal.
- arsehole noun(Commonwealth, mildly vulgar) The anus.
- asshole noun(vulgar) The anus.
- assist verb, nounTo help.
- asylum noun, verbA place of safety or refuge.
- at preposition, nounIn, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).
- attain verb, nounTo come to or reach (a place) by motion or progression.
- Augean stables noun(Greek mythology) The stables where King Augeas kept his vast herd.
- avenue nounA broad street, especially one bordered by trees or, in cities laid out in a grid pattern, one that is on a particular side of the city or …
- away adverb, interjection, adjective, verbFrom a place, hence.
- babel noun, proper nounA confused noise made by a number of voices.
- backwater noun, verb, proper nounThe water held back by a dam or other obstruction.
- bail out verb(transitive) To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail money.
- bakery noun(countable) A place in which bread (and often other baked goods such as cakes) is baked and/or sold.
- barricade noun, verbA barrier constructed across a road, especially as a military defence