phonetic

adjective

pho·​net·​ic fə-ˈne-tik How to pronounce phonetic (audio)
1
: representing the sounds and other phenomena of speech: such as
a
: constituting an alteration of ordinary spelling that better represents the spoken language, that employs only characters of the regular alphabet, and that is used in a context of conventional spelling
b
: representing speech sounds by means of symbols that have one value only
c
: employing for speech sounds more than the minimum number of symbols necessary to represent the significant differences in a speaker's speech
2
a
: of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
b
: of or relating to the science of phonetics

Did you know?

The English alphabet is phonetic—that is, the letters represent sounds. The Chinese alphabet, however, isn't phonetic, since its symbols represent ideas rather than sounds. But even in English, a letter doesn't always represent the same sound; the "a" in cat, father, and mate, for example, represents three different sounds. Because of this, books about words often use specially created phonetic alphabets in which each symbol stands for a single sound in order to represent pronunciations.

Examples of phonetic in a Sentence

the phonetic units of a language This dictionary uses the International Phonetic Alphabet. Spanish is a more phonetic language than English.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The iPhone manufacturer has said that speech recognition models may initially display words with phonetic overlap until further analysis identifies the correct word. Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025 Apple has since explained the speech recognition feature occasionally displays words with phonetic overlaps before eventually landing on the right word. Dimitar 'mix' Mihov, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025 Apple has blamed the bug on the phonetic overlap between the two words. Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 26 Feb. 2025 An Apple spokeswoman blamed the issue on phonetic overlap between the two words, and said the company was working on a fix. Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for phonetic

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin phōnēticus "(of written characters) representing speech sounds rather than ideas," borrowed from Greek phōnētikós "of speech, endowed with speech," from phōnē-, variant stem of phōnéō, phoneîn "to speak, utter " (derivative of phōnḗ "sound made by something living, voice, speech, utterance") + -t-, verbal adjective formative + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at phono-

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of phonetic was in 1802

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Cite this Entry

“Phonetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phonetic. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

phonetic

adjective
pho·​net·​ic fə-ˈnet-ik How to pronounce phonetic (audio)
1
a
: of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
phonetic differences between Old English and Modern English
b
: of or relating to phonetics
2
: representing speech sounds
phonetic spelling
phonetically adverb
Etymology

from modern Latin phoneticus "relating to speech sounds," from Greek phōnētikos (same meaning), derived from phōnē "voice, sound" — related to euphony, symphony

Medical Definition

phonetic

adjective
pho·​net·​ic fə-ˈnet-ik How to pronounce phonetic (audio)
1
a
: of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
b
: of or relating to the science of phonetics
2
: representing the sounds and other phenomena of speech
phonetically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on phonetic

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