glottal stop

noun Phonetics.

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.

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

Origin of glottal stop

First recorded in 1885–90

Also called glottal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for glottal stop

glottal stop

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012