- (functioning as singular) the science concerned with the study of speech processes, including the production, perception, and analysis of speech sounds from both an acoustic and a physiological point of view. This science, though capable of being applied to language studies, technically excludes linguistic considerations
Compare phonology
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pho•net•ics /fəˈnɛtɪks, foʊ-/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Phonetics the study of speech sounds and how they are made, transmitted, and heard by the ear:[uncountable; used with a singular verb]Phonetics was one of the courses the student teachers had to take.
- Phonetics[plural* used with a plural verb] the phonetic system of a particular language.
pho•net•ics
(fə net′iks, fō-),USA pronunciation n. (used with a sing. v.)
- Phoneticsthe science or study of speech sounds and their production, transmission, and reception, and their analysis, classification, and transcription. Cf. acoustic phonetics, articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, physiological phonetics.
- Phoneticsthe phonetic system or the body of phonetic facts of a particular language.
- Phoneticsthe symbols used to represent the speech sounds of a language.
- see phonetic, -ics 1835–45
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
phonetics /fəˈnɛtɪks/ n
'phonetics' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
phonetic
- phonetician
- Sweet
- thorn
- acoustic phonetics
- articulatory phonetics
- auditory phonetics
- Bar-B-Q
- combinatorial
- flap
- linguistics
- phon
- phonet.
- phonics
- physiological phonetics
- poontang
- primer
- radical