phonetic alphabet

noun

A writing system used to unambiguously transcribe the sounds of human speech.

“NATO phonetic alphabet”

Similar
spelling alphabetradio alphabetsound alphabet
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Meanings

nounphonetic alphabet (plural phonetic alphabets)

plural phonetic alphabets

  1. A writing system used to unambiguously transcribe the sounds of human speech.

    International Phonetic Alphabet

  2. A spelling alphabet: a set of code words used to substitute the names of the letters of the alphabet, usually for clarity of communication when spelling out words.

    NATO phonetic alphabet

    Synonyms: spelling alphabet, radio alphabet

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA spelling alphabet: a set of code words used to substitute the names of the letters of the alphabet, usually for clarity of communication when spelling out words.

Similar
spelling alphabetradio alphabet

More synonyms by meaning

nounan alphabet of characters intended to represent specific sounds of speech

Similar
sound alphabet
Broader
alphabetABCABC's
Also see
spelling alphabet

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Czech fonetická abeceda
  • fonetická abecedawriting system
Danish fonetisk alfabet
  • fonetisk alfabetwriting system
Finnish foneettiset aakkoset
  • foneettiset aakkosetwriting system
German phonetisches Alphabet
  • phonetisches Alphabetwriting system
Greek φωνητικό αλφάβητο
  • φωνητικό αλφάβητο (fonitikó alfávito)writing system
Hebrew אָלֶפְבֵּית פוֹנֵטִי
  • אָלֶפְבֵּית פוֹנֵטִי (alefbét fonéti)writing system
Japanese 発音記号, 音声記号
  • 発音記号 (hatsuon kigō)writing system
  • 音声記号 (onsei kigō)writing system
Polish alfabet fonetyczny
  • alfabet fonetycznywriting system
Portuguese alfabeto fonético
  • alfabeto fonéticowriting system
Romanian alfabet fonetic
  • alfabet foneticwriting system
Russian фонети́ческий алфави́т
  • фонети́ческий алфави́т (fonetíčeskij alfavít)writing system
Swedish fonetiskt alfabet
  • fonetiskt alfabetwriting system
Turkish fonetik alfabe
  • fonetik alfabewriting system
Cite this entry
APA

phonetic alphabet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phonetic%20alphabet

MLA

“phonetic alphabet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phonetic%20alphabet. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phonetic alphabet,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phonetic%20alphabet.

Source: phonetic alphabet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.