syl·la·ble
ˈsi-lə-bəl 
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
syllabled; syllabling
ˈsi-lə-b(ə-)liŋ
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
Synonyms
Examples of syllable in a Sentence
Noun
The word “doctor” has two syllables.
“Doctor” is a two-syllable word.
The first syllable of the word “doctor” is given stress.
Recent Examples on the Web
Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Our initial joke was like, ‘Well, the syllables matched up.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024
Mark’s speech was barely a minute long, but featured the night’s most emotional heft per syllable.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2024
All the while, Campbell imbues each syllable with a sense of deep thought and consideration, as though Mara were constantly questioning her worst physical and emotional impulses, but submitting to them regardless.
—Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for syllable 
Noun
But right then—before COVID lockdowns, before the felony assault case, before the 10-carat bindi—Baby Pluto had the solar system hanging onto every syllable, ready to Futsal Shuffle on command.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Our initial joke was like, ‘Well, the syllables matched up.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024
Mark’s speech was barely a minute long, but featured the night’s most emotional heft per syllable.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2024
All the while, Campbell imbues each syllable with a sense of deep thought and consideration, as though Mara were constantly questioning her worst physical and emotional impulses, but submitting to them regardless.
—Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for syllable
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'syllable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near syllable
Cite this Entry
“Syllable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syllable. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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