word
0 antonyms and opposites of word, grouped by meaning.
Noun — The smallest unit of language that carries meaning on its own, made up of one or more sounds or letters.
How to use word
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Etymology
From Old English "word," tracing back to a very old Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to speak." It's a distant relative of "verb" and "verve."
Full origin of word →Frequently asked questions
What does “word” mean?
The word “word” means the smallest unit of language that carries meaning on its own, made up of one or more sounds or letters. In plain terms, a single unit of language, or, more loosely, someone's promise or a bit of news.
How do you pronounce “word”?
“Word” is pronounced wurd (/wɜɹd/ in IPA).
How do you use “word” in a sentence?
Here is “word” used in a sentence: “"Cat" is a single word, but "cats" adds a small unit of meaning too.”
What is another word for “word”?
Words with a similar meaning to “word” include vocable and lexeme.
What part of speech is “word”?
“Word” is a noun.
Where does the word “word” come from?
The word “word” comes from Old English. From Old English "word," tracing back to a very old Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to speak." It's a distant relative of "verb" and "verve.".
Is “word” a common word?
“Word” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
How many meanings does “word” have?
“Word” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the smallest unit of language that carries meaning on its own, made up of one or more sounds or letters.
What is the difference between a word and a syllable?
A syllable is a unit of sound — a single beat of pronunciation, like the two beats in 'wa-ter' — and carries no meaning on its own. A word is a unit of meaning that can stand alone. A word may have one syllable or many, but only the word actually means something.
What is the difference between a word and a morpheme?
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part of language, but it cannot always stand alone — prefixes and endings like 'un-' or '-ed' are morphemes. A word is a unit that can stand alone in a sentence. Some words are a single morpheme; others, like 'unkindly', combine several.
What is the difference between a word and a phrase?
A word is a single unit of meaning, while a phrase is a small group of words that work together as one idea, like 'the big red bus'. A phrase can act as a unit within a sentence but, unlike a clause, does not contain both a subject and its verb.
What is the shortest word in English?
The shortest words are 'a' and 'I', each a single letter and a single sound, yet each carries full meaning — one an article, the other a pronoun. They show that a word's length has nothing to do with its status: even one letter can be a complete, meaningful unit of language.