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 “waste time”
- boondoggle noun, verb(especially scouting) A braided ring to hold a neckerchief.
- chew the fat verb(informal) To chat idly or generally waste time talking.
- coquet noun, verb, proper nounA flirtatious female; a coquette.
- dally verb, noun, proper nounTo waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- dawdle verb, noun(transitive) Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.
- diddle noun, verb, interjection, proper noun(music, countable) In percussion, two consecutive notes played by the same hand (either RR or LL), similar to the drag, except that by conv…
- dilly-dally verb(intransitive) To dawdle; to waste time; to procrastinate.
- fool around verb(intransitive, idiomatic) To engage in frivolous behaviour; to monkey around.
- footle verb, nounTo waste time; to trifle.
- fritter noun, verbSynonym of pancake, a portion of batter fried on a pan.
- humbug noun, interjection, verb(countable, slang) A hoax, jest, or prank.
- jazz around verb(slang, dated) To have fun, play around; to waste time with frivolity.
- jerk off verb, noun(intransitive, vulgar) To masturbate by manually stimulating one's own penis.
- laze verb, noun, proper nounTo be lazy, waste time.
- loll around verb(intransitive) To waste time by relaxing, sitting, reclining and being lazy.
- nonsense noun, verb, adjective, interjectionLetters or words, in writing or speech, that have no meaning or pattern or seem to have no meaning.
- noodle noun, verb(usually in the plural) A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup …
- patsy noun, verb, proper noun(informal, derogatory) A person who is easily manipulated, victimized, or made to take the blame for something.
- putz noun, verb, proper noun(derogatory) A fool, an idiot.
- shoot the breeze verb(slang, idiomatic, US) To chat idly or generally waste time talking.