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 “circ”
- Circe proper noun(Greek mythology) An enchantress who turned Odysseus's men into pigs.
- circle noun, verb, proper noun(geometry) A two-dimensional geometric figure, a line, consisting of the set of all those points in a plane that are equally distant from a…
- circus noun, verbA traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts, that gives shows usually in a…
- circaea nounenchanter's nightshade
- circlet nounA small circle.
- circuit noun, verbThe act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution
- Circinus proper noun(astronomy) A small constellation of the southern winter sky, said to resemble a compass. It lies between the constellations of Centaurus a…
- circular adjective, noun, verbOf or relating to a circle.
- circadian adjective(biology) Of, relating to, or showing rhythmic behaviour with a period of approximately 24 hours; especially of a biological process.
- circaetus nounharrier eagles
- circinate adjective(botany) Of a leaf or similar part: coiled on itself from the apex toward the base.
- circuitry noun(countable) A specific system of electrical circuits in a particular device; (uncountable) the design of such a system.
- circulate verb(intransitive) To move in circles or through a circuit.
- Circassian adjective, noun, proper nounOf or pertaining to Circassia or Circassians.
- circuitous adjectiveNot direct or to the point.
- circularly adverbIn a circular way.
- circumcise verbTo surgically remove the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis of.
- circumflex noun, adjective, verbA diacritical mark (ˆ) placed over a vowel in the orthography or transliteration of many languages to change its pronunciation; while in so…
- circumfuse verbTo pour round; to spread round, as a fluid.
- circumvent verb(transitive) to avoid or get around something; to bypass
- circularise verbNon-Oxford British English standard spelling of circularize.
- circularity noun(uncountable) The state of being circular.
- circularize verb(intransitive) To publicize something by publishing and distributing circulars.
- circulating adjectiveMoving about freely.
- circulation nounThe act of moving in a circle, or in a course which brings the moving body to the place where its motion began.
- circulative adjectivePromoting circulation; circulating.
- circulatory adjective, nounOf or pertaining to a circulation, especially to the circulatory system.
- circumcised adjective, noun(medicine, urology) Of a man, having had the foreskin of the penis excised.
- circumpolar adjectiveLocated or found throughout a polar region.
- circumspect adjectiveCarefully aware of all circumstances; considerate of all that is pertinent.
- circumvolve verb(transitive) To cause (something) to revolve or roll around; to put (something) into a circular motion.
- circular saw nounA power saw with a circular cutting blade, whose teeth rotate rapidly.
- circumboreal adjective(biogeography) Relating to the northern ecoregion of abundant forest growth particularly spanning Eurasia and North America
- circumcision nounThe surgical excision of the foreskin and usually all or most of the penile frenulum.
- circumferent adjectiveclosely encircling
- circumscribe verbTo draw a line around; to encircle.
- circumstance noun, verbSomething which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event.
- circumvolute verbTo roll, curl or twist around
- circuit board noun(electronics, computer hardware) A board on which electronic components and their interconnecting circuits are mounted or etched.
- circular file noun(idiomatic, humorous) The trash container; the wastebasket.
- circular-knit adjectiveknitted in tubular form
- circumduction noun(anatomy) The circular (or, more precisely, conical) movement of a body part, such as a ball-and-socket joint or the eye. It consists of a …
- circumference noun, verb(geometry) The line that bounds a circle or other two-dimensional figure.
- circumscribed adjectiveLimited narrowly; restricted.
- circumspectly adverbIn a circumspect manner; with consideration for all that is pertinent.
- circumstances nounplural of circumstance
- circumvallate verb, adjective(transitive) To surround with, or as if with, a rampart.
- circumvention nounThe act of evading or going around (bypassing).
- circumambulate verb(transitive) To walk around something in a circle, especially for a ritual purpose.
- circumlocution noun(uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:
- circumlocutory adjectiveCharacterised by circumlocution; overly wordy
- circumnavigate verb(transitive) To travel completely around somewhere or something (especially the Globe), especially by sail.
- circumspection nounAttention to all the facts and circumstances of a case; consideration of all that is pertinent.
- circumstantial adjective, nounPertaining to or dependent on circumstances, especially as opposed to essentials; incidental, not essential.
- circumvolution nounThe act of revolution, rotation or gyration around an axis.
- circuit breaker noun(electricity) An electrical switch capable of opening and closing an electrical circuit in all operating conditions, including fault situat…
- circularisation nounAlternative spelling of circularization.
- circularization nounThe distribution of publicity circulars.
- circumferential adjective(not comparable) Of or pertaining to a circumference.
- circumlocutious adjectivecircumlocutional