lisp
noun
lisp
1 American
[lisp]
/ lɪsp /
noun
lisps
plural
-
Phonetics.
-
the systematic articulation of s and z in a forward, dental position, like th- sounds, as a manifestation of a speech disorder or a stylistic affectation.
-
any unconventional articulation of the sibilants, as the pronunciation of s and z with the tongue between the teeth lingual protrusion lisp, close to or touching the upper front teeth dental lisp, or raised so that the breath is emitted laterally lateral lisp.
-
-
the act, habit, or sound of lisping.
verb (used with or without object)
lisps,
present (3rd person singular)
lisped,
past participle, past
lisping
present participle
-
to pronounce or speak with a lisp.
-
to speak imperfectly, especially in a childish manner.
LISP
2
American
[lisp]
/ lɪsp /
noun
Computers.
lisp
1
British
/ lɪsp /
noun
-
the articulation of s and z like or nearly like the th sounds in English thin and then respectively
-
the habit or speech defect of pronouncing s and z in this manner
-
the sound of a lisp in pronunciation
verb
-
to use a lisp in the pronunciation of (speech)
-
to speak or pronounce imperfectly or haltingly
LISP
2
British
/ lɪsp /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lispsimple
-
lispssimple
-
have lispedperfect
-
has lispedperfect
-
am lispingprogressive
-
are lispingprogressive
-
is lispingprogressive
-
have been lispingperfect progressive
-
has been lispingperfect progressive
Past
-
lispedsimple
-
had lispedperfect
-
was lispingprogressive
-
were lispingprogressive
-
had been lispingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lisp1
First recorded before 1100; Middle English wlispen, lipsen, Old English āwlyspian; akin to Dutch lisp(el)en, German lispeln, Norwegian leipsa
Origin of LISP2
lis(t) p(rocessing)
Explanation
A lisp is a manner of speaking so that s and other similar consonants are blurred into more of a th- sound. Most little kids have a bit of a lisp when they first start speaking. If you speak with a lisp, you can also say that you tend to lisp — and if you lisp in a way that makes it hard for people to understand what you're saying, you can visit a speech therapist who will teach you to speak without a lisp. Sometimes dental work — braces, or a mouth that's numb from having cavities filled — can give you a temporary lisp. Lisp comes from the imitative Old English wlisp.
Vocabulary lists containing lisp
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
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Look Both Ways
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Tho thsorry,” I sighed with a slight lisp from my new Invisaligns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
They were specifically made to preserve his natural lisp and so important he carried two sets with him at all times.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2024
When I was a kid, I started doing elocution lessons because I had a really bad lisp.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
Moore employs a subtle, impeccable lisp in Gracie’s voice; Portman studiously echoes it.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
The new injury endowed the big oaf with a disconcerting lisp.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
The programming behind Aaron - written in LISP, which was invented by one of the founding fathers of artificial intelligence, John McCarthy, back in the 1960s - attempts to do just that.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2015
In 1958 — two years after organizing the first conference on artificial intelligence — McCarthy invented the computer programming language LISP.
From Nature ● Nov. 2, 2011
McCarthy in 1959 was turning his interest from chess to a new way of talking to the computer, the whole new "language" called LISP.
From Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution Chapters 1 and 2 by Levy, Steven
Amiga Persecution Complex is by no means limited to Amiga users; NeXT, NeWS, OS/2, Macintosh, LISP, and GNU users are also common victims.
From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.
Nearly every hacker knows one of C or LISP, and most good ones are fluent in both.
From The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0, 24 Jul 1996 by Raymond, Eric S.
And even my dialect coach was really anti- the idea for a while because it was creating lisps in my mouth, which wasn’t right.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
They are two different entities that operate as one, babbling to each other as pint-size radio announcers with slight lisps.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2022
Her dad also lisps very slightly on “S” sounds but it’s not as pronounced.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2021
He lisps a little, because he has just two teeth left.
From US News ● May 3, 2015
A five-year-old is cute when he lisps and stutters.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
His voice, slightly lisped, pinballs from story to story, often landing back at the place he started.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2022
Alone in the room, I look at him: his quizzical face, problem skin, lisped mouth; his long body, a still hyphen.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 30, 2019
One of the little girls handed her a copy to inscribe and lisped her name.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 2, 2017
The PG-13 lyrics are lisped and gulped into sonic oatmeal.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2016
Arya thought it was funny the way Vargo Hoat lisped and slobbered, but she knew better than to laugh.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
This pubescent Vance has been adorned with a rainbow propeller hat and a swirly lollipop, morphed into a patriotic Minion from Despicable Me, and rendered as lisping Hans Landa, the Nazi villain from Inglourious Basterds.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2025
And at last, we get the spectacle of Mullally unleashed as the apparently dotty, sort-of wheelchair-bound mom, lisping her way to glory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
“That was my intention — I’m a little prec-iousss about that,” he says, laughing as he drops a quick lisping impression of Gollum.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2021
He gave each character such a unique voice and accent that I can still hear his lisping version of Gollum in Tolkien’s trilogy.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2019
It was like a heavy shaking of talcum powder in the brain hearing all those mothers complimenting each other’s daughters and lisping back in good Castilian to the Sisters of the Merciful Mother.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
