phonics
Americannoun
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a method of teaching reading and spelling based upon the phonetic interpretation of ordinary spelling.
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Obsolete. phonetics.
noun
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an obsolete name for acoustics
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a method of teaching people to read by training them to associate letters with their phonetic values
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of phonics
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Explanation
Phonics is the science of sound. It’s also a way of teaching reading by focusing on how letters and groups of letters of the alphabet look and sound. Phonics comes from the Greek word phone for "sound." Phone is a familiar word as the thing you talk to people on, but it also shows up in other sound-related words like phonology (the scientific study of sounds in languages) and phonograph (an old device for playing music). Phonics is a way of teaching beginning readers to match letters and sounds. By associating letters with sounds, phonics helps people hear and say the words they’re seeing on the page.
Vocabulary lists containing phonics
Common Senses: Phon ("Sound")
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phon
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2015 National Spelling Bee Words
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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.
For years, schools taught reading using approaches that de-emphasized phonics and encouraged strategies such as guessing words based on context clues.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
The Mississippi Moon Shot: rigorous phonics training, accountability when students fail to learn—and then, crucially, school choice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
Dogs aim to please, though one of the first things we should find out is how they feel about phonics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
Mr Briggs also claimed the changes were bearing fruit with improved pupil scores for phonics.
From BBC • Jul. 28, 2025
At least two daily periods should be given to phonics.
From How to Teach Phonics by Williams, Lida M.
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.
