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 “reak”
- break verb, noun(ergative, transitive, intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed…
- creak noun, verb, proper nounThe sound produced by anything that creaks; a creaking.
- freak noun, verb, adjective(dated outside certain expressions) Someone or something that is markedly unusual or unpredictable.
- wreak verb, noun(transitive) To cause harm; to afflict; to inflict; to harm or injure; to let out harm.
- creaky adjectiveTending to creak.
- freaky adjectiveResembling a freak.
- screak noun, verbshriek; screech
- skreak verb(UK, regional, archaic) creak; shriek; squeak
- streak noun, verbAn irregular line, as is left from smearing or motion.
- breakax nounWest Indian timber tree having very hard wood
- breaker noun, interjectionSomething that breaks (something else).
- breakup nounThe act of breaking up; disintegration or division.
- screaky adjectivecreaky; squeaky
- streaky adjectiveHaving streaks.
- break in verb(intransitive) To enter a place by force or illicit means.
- break up verb(transitive) To break or separate into pieces.
- break-in nounThe act of entering a place with the intent to steal or commit some other offense; an instance of breaking and entering.
- breakage nounThe act of breaking.
- breakaxe nounWest Indian timber tree having very hard wood
- breakers adjective(UK, slang) Outstandingly pleasing, breaking out oneˈs excitement.
- breaking nounThe act by which something is broken.
- breakout noun, adjectiveAn escape from prison.
- creakily adverbIn a creaky manner.
- creaking nounA noise that creaks.
- daybreak noun, proper nounThe beginning of the day; the first moment of daylight.
- freakish adjectiveResembling a freak.
- outbreak noun, verbAn eruption; the sudden appearance of a rash, disease, etc.
- streaked adjectiveBearing streaks.
- streaker nounOne who runs naked through a public place as a prank.
- break off verb(transitive) To remove a piece from a whole by breaking or snapping.
- break out verb(intransitive) To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.
- break-axe nounA South American hardwood, Sloanea jamaicensis
- breakable adjective, nounAble to break or be broken.
- breakaway adjective, nounHaving broken away from a larger unit.
- breakdown noun(countable) A failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature.
- breakfast noun, verbThe first meal of the day, usually eaten in the morning.
- breakneck adjective, adverb, nounDangerously fast; hell-for-leather.
- firebreak noun(firefighting) An area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it.
- freak out noun, verb(dated slang) A negative or unpleasant experience with LSD or another psychedelic drug.
- gaolbreak noun(Commonwealth) Dated spelling of jailbreak (“escape from prison”).
- jailbreak noun, verbAn escape from prison.
- newsbreak nounAn instance of news broadcasting.
- preakness nounan annual race for three-year-old horses; held at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland
- screakily adverbin a creaky manner
- tax break nounA deduction in tax that is given in order to encourage a certain economic activity or a social objective.
- tea break noun(UK, Australia) A short break or rest period during the day when a cup of tea or coffee is drunk.
- windbreak noun(agriculture) A hedge, fence or row of trees positioned to reduce wind damage to crops.
- break away verbTo leave suddenly.
- break camp verbTo pack up a campsite and move on.
- break down verb(intransitive, of a machine, computer, vehicle, etc.) To stop functioning.
- break even verb(idiomatic) To neither gain nor lose a quantity of something, (especially) money.
- break into verb(transitive, idiomatic) To enter illegally or by force, especially in order to commit a crime.
- break open verb(idiomatic) To make a breakthrough on a mystery or problem; to cause a breakthrough to be made.
- break wind verb(idiomatic, euphemistic) To expel gases generated during digestion, especially through the anus; to fart.
- break with verbTo cease having a positive connection with (a person, group, movement, etc).
- breakstone nounSaxifrage (Saxifraga spp.)
- breakwater noun, proper nounA construction in or around a harbour designed to break the force of the sea and to provide shelter for vessels lying inside.
- creakingly adverbWith a creaking sound.
- fast break noun(basketball) An offensive play in which a team, having won possession of the ball, moves the ball downcourt as quickly as possible, attempt…
- freakishly adverbIn a freakish manner.