syllable

noun syl·la·ble \ ˈsi-lə-bəl \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

1 : a unit of spoken language that is next bigger than a speech sound and consists of one or more vowel sounds alone or of a syllabic consonant alone or of either with one or more consonant sounds preceding or following

2 : one or more letters (such as syl, la, and ble) in a word (such as syl*la*ble) usually set off from the rest of the word by a centered dot or a hyphen and roughly corresponding to the syllables of spoken language and treated as helps to pronunciation or as guides to placing hyphens at the end of a line

3 : the smallest conceivable expression or unit of something : jot

4 : sol-fa syllables

See syllable defined for English-language learners

See syllable defined for kids

Examples of syllable in a Sentence

The word “doctor” has two syllables.
“Doctor” is a two-syllable word.
The first syllable of the word “doctor” is given stress.

Recent Examples of syllable from the Web

Donna is strikingly similar in terms of syllable structure, so maybe she, too, can make a turn-around.

— donna vickroy, Daily Southtown, "Destined to be dowdy forever? The difficulty of being named 'Donna' in 2018," 7 July 2018
Reinhart is quiet and thoughtful, carefully weighing her words before speaking and drawing out her syllables for emphasis.

— julie kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lili Reinhart Is a Hollywood Ingenue with No Time for Haters," 2 July 2018
Most of the participants were white women, stumbling over the syllables of Spanish-language chants.

— marissa j. lang, Washington Post, "‘We will not obey’: 575 arrested as hundreds of women rally in D.C. to protest Trump’s immigration policy," 28 June 2018
Twenty-first century country music doesn't have quite the same reverence for the old warble -- the acute bending of a single vowel into multiple notes and syllables.

— andrew dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Corsicana creates a Lefty Frizzell festival," 23 May 2018
For the listener, the challenge is to try to hear differently, to build sensitivity to foreign sounds that can be likened to learning to distinguish syllables in a new language.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Becoming John Luther Adams: The evolution of one of America's hottest composers," 3 May 2018
Word nodes are like sprinting muscles and syllable nodes are like endurance muscles.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "A new 'Laurel-or-Yanny'? This aural trick might have you hearing spoken words as song," 8 June 2018
The risk here is that such an admonition would not be taken seriously, and the child would deliberately jirble just for the sake of hearing the parent utter those playful syllables again.

— robert klose, The Christian Science Monitor, "A few old words worth rescuing," 9 May 2018
Those last few phrases are enunciated in a fierce staccato, each syllable sounding a bit like a fresh indictment in a litany of accusations.

— james hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "La Jolla Playhouse going out on a limb with world-premiere Robert Askins comedy 'The Squirrels'," 1 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'syllable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of syllable

Middle English, from Anglo-French sillabe, silable, from Latin syllaba, from Greek syllabē, from syllambanein to gather together, from syn- + lambanein to take — more at latch

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

syllable Synonyms

Synonyms

beans, continental, darn (also durn), fig, hoot, iota, jot, lick, modicum, rap, tittle, whit, whoop;

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

syllable

verb

syllabled; syllabling play \ˈsi-lə-b(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

1 : to give a number or arrangement of syllables to (a word or verse)

2 : to express or utter in or as if in syllables

First Known Use of syllable

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

SYLLABLE Defined for English Language Learners

syllable

noun

: any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced

SYLLABLE Defined for Kids

syllable

noun syl·la·ble \ ˈsi-lə-bəl \

1 : a unit of spoken language that consists of one or more vowel sounds alone or with one or more consonant sounds coming before or following

2 : one or more letters (as syl, la, and ble) in a written word (as syl*la*ble) usually separated from the rest of the word by a centered dot or a hyphen and used as guides to the division of the word at the end of a line