phonetics

noun

pho·net·ics fə-ˈne-tiks

plural in form but singular in construction

: the system of speech sounds of a language or group of languages

: the study and systematic classification of the sounds made in spoken utterance

: the practical application of this science to language study

Examples of phonetics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web An adaptation of the beloved musical about a phonetics professor who pompously takes it upon himself to transform a working-class Cockney girl (a marvelous Audrey Hepburn) into a paragon of high society. —

Emily Burack, Town & Country, 26 Jan. 2023 School districts are returning to older ways of teaching, such as phonetics, as are some of the writers of curriculum that uses the whole language method. —

cleveland, 21 Dec. 2022 The book also includes an index of terms with phonetics and color coding. —

Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, 10 Oct. 2022 While at Oxford, Hayes plans to study for graduate degrees in mathematical science as well as linguistics, philology and phonetics, according to the university. —

Ruth Serven Smith | Rserven@al.com, al, 23 Nov. 2021 The class is held on Wednesdays via Zoom and will be covering Moses-Columbian language history, phonetics/orthography, vocabulary, and grammar. —

oregonlive, 8 Oct. 2021 Francis Andrade, who lives in Woodbridge, Va., had planned to use the Barbie Pond display as a visual aide for her students, who are deaf children learning to communicate with their Hispanic parents through phonetics. —

Washington Post, 27 June 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'phonetics.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.