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 “hard work”
- hard worker nounA hardworking person.
- affirmation nounThat which is affirmed; a declaration that something is true.
- after adverb, preposition, conjunction, adjective, nounBehind; later in time; following.
- against preposition, conjunctionIn a contrary direction to.
- American Dream proper noun(idiomatic) The ideal stressing egalitarianism and that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve mate…
- butty noun, verb, adjective(UK, chiefly Northern England, New Zealand, Ireland) A sandwich, usually with a hot or cold savoury filling buttered in a barmcake. The mos…
- carpet knight noun(historical) One made a knight during a time of peace and therefore for some reason other than military distinction or service.
- carve out verb(literally, transitive) To hollow by carving.
- compensate verbTo do (something good) after (something bad) happens.
- dig in verb(colloquial) To begin eating.
- diligence nounSteady application; industry; careful work involving long-term effort.
- dink noun, verb, adjective, adverb(tennis) A soft drop shot.
- disuse noun, verbThe state of not being used; neglect.
- dope off verb(slang) To be inattentive; to get out of hard work; to skive off.
- elbow grease noun(idiomatic) Effort or hard work, especially physical work involving repeated motion of the forearm, such as scrubbing.
- firewood nounWood intended to be burned, typically for heat.
- fruition nounThe fulfillment of something worked for.
- gnarled adjectiveKnotty and misshapen.
- grind verb, noun(transitive) To reduce to smaller pieces by crushing with lateral motion.
- gristle nounCartilage; now especially: cartilage present, as a tough substance, in meat.
- hardscrabble adjective(Canada, US, of land) Requiring much work to farm, and ultimately not very productive.
- hustler noun, proper nounOne who rushes or hurries; an energetic person.
- invent verbTo design a new process or mechanism.
- labour noun, verbAn effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
- like verb, noun, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, particle, proper nounTo enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
- mentality nounA mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs.
- moderation nounThe state or quality of being moderate; avoidance of extremes.
- moil verb, noun, proper nounTo toil, to work hard.
- peeve noun, verb(colloquial) An annoyance or grievance.
- perspiration nounThe action or process of perspiring.
- piety noun(uncountable, religion) Reverence and devotion to God.
- poor adjective, noun, verb, proper nounWith no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
- silver bullet noun(literally, folklore) A bullet made of silver, usually with reference to the folkloric belief that such bullets are the only weapons which …
- stand-up adjective, nounHonest; honorable; genuine.
- strife nounStriving; earnest endeavor; hard work.
- sweat noun, verb, proper nounFluid that exits the body through pores in the skin usually due to physical stress and/or high temperature for the purpose of regulating bo…
- taskmaster nounSomeone who supervises workers, especially one who imposes hard or burdensome work.
- toiling nounHard work.
- unaccountably adverbNot able to be explained logically. Without being accountable, or reasonable.
- work noun, verb, proper nounLabour, occupation, job.
- you bet interjection(idiomatic) Expresses support, agreement, certainty or emphasis.