glottal stop

American  

noun

Phonetics.

1. a plosive consonant whose occlusion and release are accomplished chiefly at the glottis, as in the Scottish articulation of the t- sound of little, bottle, etc.

2. a stop consonant, without release, having glottal occlusion as a secondary articulation, as in yep for yes, nope for no.

---

glottal stop British  

noun

1. a plosive speech sound produced as the sudden onset of a vowel in several languages, such as German, by first tightly closing the glottis and then allowing the air pressure to build up in the trachea before opening the glottis, causing the air to escape with force

---

Etymology

Origin of glottal stop

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Every glottal stop in Rebekah del Rio's "Llorando," the Spanish rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying" performed in Club Silencio, was punctuated by the sounds of some dude drifting in and out of consciousness.

From Salon

People speak differently, her son picking up so-called “Multicultural London English” rather than the “Cockney vowels and glottal stops” of her father’s generation.

From Los Angeles Times

The language is famously difficult with tones and glottal stops unlike anything in English.

From Los Angeles Times

It is there that they must await further orders from their sinister cockney boss, Harry, played with a variety of quaint glottal stops and Pinteresque menace by Fiennes.

From The Guardian

But Garcia’s intra-line breaks feel more pronounced than commas; I hear them almost the way I hear Notley’s quotation marks, a mental glottal stop; a visual fake punch to make you flinch.

From New York Times