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 “um”
- Uma proper noun, noun(Hinduism) One of the names of Hindu goddess Parvati.
- ump noun, verb, proper noun(sports, informal) An umpire.
- umbo noun(historical) The boss of a shield, at or near the middle and usually projecting, sometimes in a sharp spike.
- umma nounAlternative spelling of ummah.
- umbel noun(botany) A flat-topped or rounded flower-cluster (= inflorescence) in which the individual flower stalks arise from the same point, the you…
- umber noun, adjective, verbA brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
- umbra nounThe fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object.
- ummah noun(Islam) The worldwide Muslim community.
- Umbria proper nounAn administrative region in central Italy.
- umlaut noun, verb(linguistics) An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonant…
- umpire noun, verb, proper nounAn official who presides over a sports match.
- umteen adjectiveinnumerable but many
- Umayyad adjective, nounOf or relating to the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled the Umayyad Caliphate from Damascus between 661 and 744 then from Harran until 750, and …
- umbrage noun, verbA feeling of anger or annoyance caused by something offensive.
- Umbrian adjective, noun, proper nounOf, from or relating to Umbria, Italy or the extinct Umbrian language.
- umbrina nouncroakers
- Umbundu proper nounA Bantu language spoken by the Ovimbundu people in the central highlands of Angola.
- umpteen determiner(informal, often slightly derogatory) Relatively large but unspecified in number.
- umbellar adjectiveOf, pertaining to, bearing or having the form of an umbel.
- umbrella noun, verbA cloth-covered frame used for protection against rain or sun.
- umpirage noun(law, archaic) The office (or term of office) of an umpire
- umptieth adjective(informal) A generic ordinal number; a last or one of the latest in a long series; implies repetition.
- umteenth adjectiveAlternative spelling of umpteenth.
- umbellate adjectiveHaving umbels.
- umbilical adjective, noun(anatomy) Of, or relating to, the navel (umbilicus) or the umbilical cord.
- umbilicus noun(anatomy) A navel.
- umpteenth adjective(informal, often slightly derogatory) Occurring in a relatively large but unspecified position in a sequence.
- umbel-like adjectiveresembling an umbel in form
- umbellales nounplants having umbels or corymbs of uniovulate flowers; includes the Umbelliferae (chiefly herbs) and Cornaceae (chiefly trees or shrubs)
- umbellifer nounAny plant of the family Apiaceae, also called Umbelliferae, whose inflorescence is an umbel, such as a carrot or celery.
- umbilicate adjectiveHaving a navel.
- umbrageous adjectiveHaving or providing shade; shady.
- umbelliform adjective(botany) Having the shape of an umbel.
- umbelliferae nounplants having flowers in umbels: parsley; carrot; anise; caraway; celery; dill
- umbellularia nounaromatic evergreen trees of Pacific coast
- umbrellalike adjectiveResembling or characteristic of an umbrella.
- umbrellawort nounAny of various plants in the genus Mirabilis.
- umbelliferous adjective(botany) Bearing umbels.
- umbrella bird nounAlternative form of umbrellabird.
- umbrella fern nounSynonym of shield fern (“Sticherus species”).
- umbrella pine nounA stone pine.
- umbrella tree nounAn umbrella magnolia (Magnolia tripetala).
- umbilical cord noun(anatomy) The flexible structure connecting a foetus with the placenta; it transports nourishment to the foetus and removes waste.
- umbilical vein noun(anatomy) A fetal blood vessel that carries oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood from the placenta to the developing fetus.
- umbrella plant nounAny of the species Darmera peltata (Indian rhubarb).
- umbrella-shaped adjectiveshaped in the form of an umbrella
- umbilical hernia noun(pathology) A hernia at the site of the umbilicus (navel).