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 “dict.”
- acquitted adjectiveHaving been acquitted; having gone through a trial that resulted in something other than a guilty verdict.
- air noun, verb, proper noun(uncountable) The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.
- attaint adjective, verb, noun(obsolete) Convicted, attainted.
- ben noun, preposition, adverb, adjective, proper noun(obsolete) A prayer; a petition.
- benedict noun, adjective, verb, proper noun(rare) A newly married man, especially one who was previously a confirmed bachelor.
- Bennett proper nounAn English surname originating as a patronymic from a medieval form of Benedict.
- benny noun, verb, proper noun(slang, usually in the plural) An amphetamine tablet.
- call for verbTo shout out in order to summon (a person).
- commandment noun(religion) A divinely ordained command, especially one of the Ten Commandments.
- counterplay noun, verbA game move made as a response.
- deliberate adjective, verbDone on purpose; intentional.
- directed verdict noun(law) An instruction given by the judge to the jury compelling them to return a particular verdict.
- feel like verb(idiomatic) To have a desire for something, or to do something.
- fly in the face of verb(idiomatic) To act in a manner highly contrary to; to counteract or contradict.
- foreshow verb, noun(transitive, archaic) To show in advance; to foretell, predict.
- freak noun, verb, adjective(dated outside certain expressions) Someone or something that is markedly unusual or unpredictable.
- get at verbTo manage to gain access to.
- hype noun, verb, adjective(marketing) Promotion or propaganda, especially exaggerated claims.
- incalculable adjective(not comparable, mathematics) Impossible to calculate.
- interdict noun, verbA papal decree prohibiting the administration of the sacraments from a political entity under the power of a single person (e.g., a king or…
- knuckleball noun, verb(baseball) A pitch thrown with the ball gripped on the fingertips and released with no rotation, which travels over an unpredictable path t…
- negate verbTo deny the existence, evidence, or truth of; to contradict.
- negative adjective, noun, verb, interjectionNot positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
- pronouncement nounAn official public announcement.
- relieve verb(transitive) To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate th…
- rendition noun, verbAn interpretation or performance of an artwork, especially a musical score or musical work.
- sentence noun, verb(dated) The decision or judgement of a jury or court; a verdict.
- shopaholic nounOne who shops excessively; a shopping addict.
- slate noun, adjective, verb, proper nounA piece of such stone, usually cut into a rectangular shape, used as a tile for flooring, roofing, etc.; (uncountable) such tiles collectiv…
- summing up nounA summary of the main points, especially (law) a judge's recapitulation of the evidence given to a jury before it withdraws to consider its…