abbreviation

TTS

tee-tee-ESS

TTS (abbreviation) means Text to speech: technology that converts written text into spoken audio, used in screen readers, satnavs, voice assistants and video narration. Example: “He runs his articles through TTS and listens on the commute.”

abbreviation

technical Text to speech: technology that converts written text into spoken audio, used in screen readers, satnavs, voice assistants and video narration.

"He runs his articles through TTS and listens on the commute."

"The video uses a TTS voice rather than a real narrator."

informal True to size, used in clothing and footwear reviews to say that an item fits as the labelled size suggests.

"These trainers run TTS, so order your usual."

How to Use TTS

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishSoftware that reads written text out loud.

When to use it

Technical shorthand, common in software, accessibility and content-creation contexts. Capitalised in all senses.

Memory tip

In a tech article TTS is text to speech; in a product review of clothing or shoes it is true to size.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

STT ASR voiceover dubbing →

Common pairings

TTS voice TTS engine AI TTS fits TTS

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

He runs his articles through _____ and listens on the commute.

Etymology

An initialism of text to speech.

Origin: English

Synonyms

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speech synthesis voice synthesis

Antonyms

speech to text STT

Rhymes for TTS

Watts Betts Pitts Potts

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between TTS and STT?

They run in opposite directions. TTS (text to speech) turns written words into audio; STT (speech to text), also called ASR or speech recognition, turns spoken audio into written words. Dictation is STT; a screen reader is TTS.

What does TTS mean in shoe reviews?

"True to size" — the item fits as the label says, so you should buy your normal size. Reviewers contrast it with "runs small" or "runs large", and often add half-size advice such as "TTS but narrow".

Is AI voice the same as TTS?

AI voice is modern TTS. The term TTS covers everything from the flat robotic voices of older systems to today's neural models that clone a specific speaker, so the underlying task is identical even though the quality is not.