phonetic alphabet

American  

noun

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

---

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

---

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

The description of what the researchers termed a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet” opens the possibility of conveying a much larger variety of information.

From Science Magazine

On Tuesday, the scientists reported that the whales use a much richer set of sounds than previously known, which they called a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet.”

From New York Times

For much of the show’s run, various minor nurse characters were so interchangeable that they were repeatedly named “Able” and “Baker” — literally, “A” and “B” in an older version of the military phonetic alphabet.

From New York Times

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