phonetic alphabet

American  

noun

1. an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.

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phonetic alphabet British  

noun

1. a list of the words used in communications to represent the letters of the alphabet, as in E for Echo, T for Tango

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Etymology

Origin of phonetic alphabet

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

They say they have found four basic components they think make up this phonetic alphabet.

From Seattle Times • May 7, 2024

Just type “ICS” in the search function to read about the ways signals can be sent, and to see flag images, their meanings, associated letters and phonetic alphabet letters.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2022

Other peoples provided the Greeks with crucial technological advances; they learned the phonetic alphabet from the Phoenicians, and how to mint coins from the Lydians.

From The Guardian • Jun. 20, 2015

During World War II, Dr. Abrams worked at an acoustic laboratory at Harvard, helping develop a phonetic alphabet that could be heard by soldiers amid the din of battle.

From Washington Post • Apr. 23, 2015

It is a surprising fact that we find in Central America a phonetic alphabet.

From Atlantis : the antediluvian world by Donnelly, Ignatius