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 “play with”
- comedy noun(countable, historical) a choric song of celebration or revel, especially in Ancient Greece
- complete verb, adjective, noun(ambitransitive) To finish; to make done; to reach the end.
- dandle verb, noun(transitive) To move up and down on one's knee or in one's arms, in affectionate play, usually said of a child.
- fancy noun, adjective, adverb, verb, proper nounThe imagination.
- flaunt verb, noun(intransitive, archaic, of leaves or flags) To wave or flutter smartly in the wind.
- flourish verb, noun(intransitive) To thrive or grow well.
- glissando noun, verb(music) Either a continuous sliding from one pitch to another ("true" glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melod…
- home run noun(baseball) A four-base hit, allowing the batter to circle the bases and reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by…
- joke noun, verbAn amusing story.
- last-minute adjectiveJust before it is too late; in the nick of time.
- mess about verb(intransitive) To misbehave
- muck about verb(informal, intransitive) To do random unplanned work or spend time idly
- nibble verb, nounTo take a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, of (something).
- play verb, noun, proper noun(intransitive) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
- playfellow noun(dated) A playmate; a companion for someone (especially children) to play with.
- playmate nounA companion for someone (especially a child) to play with.
- quiz noun, verb(dated) An odd, puzzling or absurd person or thing.
- scratch verb, noun, adjective, proper nounTo rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
- toy noun, verb, adjective, proper nounSomething to play with, especially as intended for use by a child.
- twiddle verb, noun(transitive) To wiggle, fidget or play with; to move around.
- vaunt verb, noun(intransitive) To speak boastfully.
- wad noun, verbAn amorphous, compact mass.
- width nounThe state of being wide.