suffix
Americannoun
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Grammar. an affix that follows the element to which it is added, as -ly in kindly.
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something added to the end of something else.
verb (used with object)
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Grammar. to add as a suffix.
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to affix at the end of something.
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to fix or put under.
verb (used without object)
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to admit a suffix.
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to add a suffix.
noun
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grammar an affix that follows the stem to which it is attached, as for example -s and -ness in dogs and softness Compare prefix
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anything that is added at the end of something else
verb
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(tr) grammar to add (a morpheme) as a suffix to the end of a word
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(tr) to add (something) at the end of a sentence, comment, or piece of writing
Usage
What does suffix mean? A suffix is a letter or group of letters placed at the end of a word to create a new word. For example, you can add the suffix -y to sleep to make sleepy or the suffix -er to loud to make louder. Suffixes are a handy tool of grammar that allows you to make a new word with a meaning that is closely related to the word the suffix is being attached to. Suffixes sometimes change the part of speech of the words they are added to. The verb create, for example, becomes the noun creation when you add the suffix -tion to it. To make create an adjective, you’d add the suffix -ive to make creative. Sometimes, a suffix changes the meaning of the word it is attached to. For example, the word defense means protection, but if you add the suffix -less, you end up with the adjective defenseless, which means unprotected.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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suffixsimple
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suffixessimple
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have suffixedperfect
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has suffixedperfect
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am suffixingprogressive
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are suffixingprogressive
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is suffixingprogressive
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have been suffixingperfect progressive
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has been suffixingperfect progressive
Past
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suffixedsimple
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had suffixedperfect
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was suffixingprogressive
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were suffixingprogressive
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had been suffixingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of suffix
First recorded in 1595–1605; from New Latin suffixum, noun use of neuter of Latin suffixus, past participle of suffīgere “to attach on top of ,” equivalent to suf- suf- + fīgere “to fasten”; see fix
Explanation
In linguistics, the suffix is part of the word that's added onto the end, like the -ish in foolish. When a suffix is added to a word, it changes the form, like when adding the suffix -y turns the noun soap into the adjective soapy. You can also use suffix as a verb. If you suffix the word cake with -less, you end up cakeless, which is pretty sad, especially if it's your birthday.
Vocabulary lists containing suffix
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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STAAR Grade 6 Reading: Informational Text
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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:
In a rare move, he dropped the Russian "-ov" suffix from his own surname back in 2007.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
PS: The Nightshade suffix refers to an exterior trim grade that bundles together the blacked-out grille, badging, 20-inch wheels, mirror caps, door handles, roof pillars and lower rear bumper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
For those of you who did not grow up in Yiddish-infused households, let me briefly explain: the suffix -eleh is a diminutive term of affection.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2024
And because Jefferson's original moniker was spelled as Megalonyx, any other subsequent spellings of the name, like some that utilize the -onix suffix, are incorrect.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2024
Exception 2.—A few words ending in e drop the e before a suffix beginning with a consonant: as, judge + ment = judgment; lodge + ment = lodgment; abridge + ment = abridgment.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
And while “-boy” and “-girl” are both common gendered suffixes used across comic history, the girls have appeared more frequently in cinematic adaptations.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
The suffixes “ist” and “ism,” as I’ve said before in these pages, assume conscious belief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
She closely reads passages from their textbooks, breaks apart prefixes and suffixes and identifies root words.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
"For those who want .ai suffixes, I'm seeing sales in the low five-figures, and sometimes in the six figures," he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2023
NOTE.—These suffixes are found only in words of French-Latin origin.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
Tamar-kali — a Biblical name suffixed with the Sanskrit word for “black one” — hails from New York, but she’s quick to acknowledge her ancestry of enslaved Africans in the American South.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2020
In neighboring states, and in some tribal areas, the “holou” is suffixed with bandar, monkey.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 18, 2018
“Every Sculpture Needs a Trapdoor” doubles down: A mishmash of ecru plates is impaled by a cylinder, then suffixed with a photocopied page from an essay on Sandback by the artist Andrea Fraser.
From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2017
His answers are always suffixed with an awkward "... but I don't know", and he describes the popularity of the XX and James Blake as the rise of "groovy music" .
From The Guardian ● Apr. 1, 2011
Finally, in its suffixed form woid-o, it became the Sanskrit word veda.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Of course, the extraordinary four-decade-old scandal — which sparked the media’s penchant for suffixing every scandal with “gate” — stays with us because of its lasting political effects and lessons for the country.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2015
The ubiquity of “Design” has rendered itself in many forms, prefixing and suffixing subjects including graphic, product, industrial, computer, systems, architecture, community, environments, molecules, and more.
From Forbes ● Oct. 10, 2012
A considerable majority of known languages are prefixing and suffixing at one and the same time, but the relative importance of the two groups of affixed elements naturally varies enormously.
From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Sapir, Edward
Some of these grammatical processes, like suffixing, are exceedingly wide-spread; others, like vocalic change, are less common but far from rare; still others, like accent and consonantal change, are somewhat exceptional as functional processes.
From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Sapir, Edward
In Japanese adverbs are formed by suffixing ni and to, like the English ly and French ment.
From A Fantasy of Far Japan Summer Dream Dialogues by Suyematsu, Baron Kencho
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.
