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syllable

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪləb(ə)l/

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Definition of syllable

noun

a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word; for example, there are two syllables in water and three in inferno.
a character or characters representing a syllable.
[usually with negative] the least amount of speech or writing; the least mention of something:I’d never have breathed a syllable if he’d kept quiet

verb

[with object]

pronounce (a word or phrase) clearly, syllable by syllable.

Phrases

in words of one syllable: using very simple language; expressed plainly.

Derivatives

syllabled: [usually in combination]:many-syllabled words

Origin:

late Middle English: from an Anglo-Norman French alteration of Old French sillabe, via Latin from Greek sullabē, from sun- 'together' + lambanein 'take'

Grammar

English words consist of one or more syllables. Each syllable always contains one speech vowel. This may have one or more speech consonants before and/or after it. In the examples that follow, the words are broken into syllables:

1	syllable	yacht	house	a
2	syllables	hap-py	lang-uage	prac-tice
3	syllables	bi-cy-cle	sen-si-ble	ac-cid-ent

Spelling help

Spell syllable with a double l in the middle; the ending is -able.

syllable in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of syllable in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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