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 “wait for”
- agonizing adjective, nounCausing physical or mental agony.
- ambuscade noun, verb(dated) An ambush; a trap laid for an enemy.
- anticipate verb(transitive) To act before (someone), especially to prevent an action.
- await verb, noun(transitive, formal) To wait for.
- belay verb, noun, proper noun(ambitransitive, nautical) To make (a rope) fast by turning it around a fastening point such as a cleat.
- bide verb, proper noun(transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To bear; to endure; to tolerate.
- bumble noun, verbA confusion; a jumble.
- cabstand nounA place where taxis wait for passengers; a taxi rank.
- cool off verb(intransitive) To decrease in temperature, activity, or temper.
- expect verb(ambitransitive) To predict or believe that something will happen
- forever adverb, noun, adjective(duration) For all time, for all eternity; for a lifetime; for an infinite amount of time.
- homophobic adjective, nounExhibiting homophobia; characteristic of homophobes.
- listen verb, noun(intransitive except in archaic usage) To use one's sense of hearing and auditory cognition in an intentional way; to make deliberate use o…
- repair verb, nounTo restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy.
- ring out verb, nounTo sound clearly and loudly.
- seeker nounOne who seeks.
- sleep verb, noun, proper noun(intransitive) To rest in a state of reduced consciousness.
- surgery noun(medicine, usually uncountable) The act or process of medical intervention involving incisions to remove, repair, or replace a part of a bo…
- tarry verb, noun, adjective, proper noun(intransitive) To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
- wait verb, noun, interjection, proper noun(intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
- wait on verbTo provide a service to (someone); to act as a servant to (someone); to serve (someone) as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant.
- waylay verb(transitive) To lie in wait for and attack from ambush.