noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/
New-Zealand:/ˌɒnəˌmɛtəˈpæɪə/
US:än'ə-măt'ə-pēʹə or än'ə-mät'ə-pēʹə
US:/ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiːə/
US:/ˌɑnəˌmɑtəˈpiːə/
/ˌɑnəˌmɑnəˈpiːə/US, chiefly Midwestern
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːə
1
noun
Meaning 1
The property of a word that sounds like what it represents.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A word that sounds like what it represents, such as gurgle, stutter, or hiss.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A word that sounds like what it represents, such as gurgle, stutter, or hiss.
A word that appropriates a sound for another sensation or a perceived nature, such as thud, beep, or meow; an ideophone, phenomime.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
The use of language whose sound imitates that which it names.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rhetoric, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
using words that imitate the sound they denote
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rhetorical device
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1nómn̥ Proto-Graeco-Phrygian *ónomã Proto-Indo-European *h1nómn̥ Proto-Hellenic *ónomə Ancient Greek ὄνομᾰ (ónomă) Proto-Indo-European *kwey-der. Proto-Hellenic *kwoiwéyō Ancient Greek ποιέω (poiéō) Ancient Greek ὀνομᾰτοποιός (onomătopoiós) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek ὀνομᾰτοποιῐ́ᾱ (onomătopoiĭ́ā)der. Latin onomatopoeïabor. English onomatopoeia Borrowed from Latin onomatopoeïa, from Ancient Greek ὀνοματοποιία (onomatopoiía, “the coining of a word in imitation of a sound”), from ὀνοματοποιέω (onomatopoiéō, “to coin names”), from ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”) + ποιέω (poiéō, “to make, to do, to produce”). By surface analysis, onomato- + -poeia.
Across languages
Translations
130 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
onomatope
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Arabic:
مُحَاكَاة صَوْتِيَّة
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Armenian:
բնաձայնություն
(bnajaynutʻyun)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Azerbaijani:
səs təqlidi
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Basque:
onomatopeia
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Bulgarian:
ономатопе́я
(onomatopéja)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Catalan:
onomatopeia
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
象聲 /象声
(xiàngshēng)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
擬聲 /拟声
(nǐshēng)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
狀聲 /状声
(zhuàngshēng)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Czech:
zvukomalba
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Czech:
onomatopoie
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Danish:
onomatopoietikon
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Dutch:
onomatopee
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Esperanto:
onomatopeo
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Estonian:
onomatopöa
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Estonian:
helijäljendus
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Finnish:
onomatopoeettisuus
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Finnish:
onomatopoesia
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
French:
onomatopée
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Galician:
onomatopeia
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Georgian:
ონომატოპეა
(onomaṭoṗea)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Georgian:
ხმაბაძვა
(xmabaʒva)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Lautmalerei
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Klangnachahmung
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Lautnachahmung
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Schallnachahmung
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Onomatopöie
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Onomatopoesie
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Greek:
ονοματοποιία
(onomatopoiía)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Hindi:
स्वनानुकरणात्मक
(svanānukarṇātmak)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Hindi:
अनुकरण
(anukraṇ)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Hungarian:
hangutánzó jelleg
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Icelandic:
hljóðgerving
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Indonesian:
onomatopoeia
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Indonesian:
pembentukan kata yg meniru suara
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Irish:
onamataipé
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Irish:
fuaimfhoclaíocht
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Italian:
onomatopea
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Japanese:
擬音
(gion)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Japanese:
擬声
(gisei)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Latin:
onomatopoeïa
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Macedonian:
ономатопе́ја
(onomatopéja)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Macedonian:
подражавање
(podražavanje)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Manx:
arrish-ockleeaght
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Norwegian:
onomatopoetikon
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Polish:
onomatopeja
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Portuguese:
onomatopeia
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Romanian:
onomatopee
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Russian:
звукоподража́ние
(zvukopodražánije)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Russian:
ономатопе́я
(onomatopéja)
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Spanish:
onomatopeya
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Swedish:
onomatopoetikon
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Tagalog:
sintunog
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Tagalog:
onomatopeya
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Turkish:
yansıma
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Turkish:
yansımalı sözcük
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Vietnamese:
tượng thanh
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Yoruba:
ìfìrósínròójẹ
— property of a word that sounds like what it represents
Albanian:
onomatope
— word that sounds like what it represents
Armenian:
բնաձայնություն
(bnajaynutʻyun)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Azerbaijani:
təqlidi söz
— word that sounds like what it represents
Bulgarian:
ономатопея
(onomatopeja)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Catalan:
onomatopeia
— word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
象聲詞 /象声词
(xiàngshēngcí)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
擬聲詞 /拟声词
(nǐshēngcí)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
擬聲語 /拟声语
(nǐshēngyǔ)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Chinese Mandarin:
狀聲詞 /状声词
(zhuàngshēngcí)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Czech:
zvukomalebné slovo
— word that sounds like what it represents
Czech:
onomatopoion
— word that sounds like what it represents
Danish:
lydord
— word that sounds like what it represents
Danish:
onomatopoietikon
— word that sounds like what it represents
Dutch:
onomatopee
— word that sounds like what it represents
Dutch:
klanknabootsing
— word that sounds like what it represents
Esperanto:
onomatopeo
— word that sounds like what it represents
Esperanto:
sonimito
— word that sounds like what it represents
Estonian:
kõlasõna
— word that sounds like what it represents
Faroese:
ljóðorð
— word that sounds like what it represents
Finnish:
onomatopoeettinen sana
— word that sounds like what it represents
French:
onomatopée
— word that sounds like what it represents
Galician:
onomatopeia
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
lautmalerisches Wort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
lautmalendes Wort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
lautnachahmendes Wort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
klangnachahmendes Wort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
onomatopoetisches Wort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Klangwort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Schallwort
— word that sounds like what it represents
German:
Onomatopoetikum
— word that sounds like what it represents
Greek:
ονοματοποιία
(onomatopoiía)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Hindi:
स्वनानुकरणात्मक
(svanānukarṇātmak)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Hindi:
अनुकरण
(anukraṇ)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Hungarian:
hangutánzó-hangulatfestő/hangfestő szó
— word that sounds like what it represents
Icelandic:
hljóðlíkingarorð
— word that sounds like what it represents
Icelandic:
hljóðgervingur
— word that sounds like what it represents
Italian:
onomatopea
— word that sounds like what it represents
Japanese:
擬音語
(giongo)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Japanese:
擬声語
(giseigo)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Japanese:
擬態語
(gitaigo)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Japanese:
オノマトペ
(onomatope)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Korean:
의성어
(uiseong'eo)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Latin:
onomatopoēticum
— word that sounds like what it represents
Latin:
vocābulum onomatopoēticum
— word that sounds like what it represents
Macedonian:
ономатопе́ја
(onomatopéja)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Macedonian:
подражавање
(podražavanje)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Māori:
kupu ororite
— word that sounds like what it represents
Māori:
kupu pakoire oro
— word that sounds like what it represents
Norwegian:
lydord
— word that sounds like what it represents
Norwegian:
onomatopoetikon
— word that sounds like what it represents
Persian:
نامآوا
(namava)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Polish:
onomatopeja
— word that sounds like what it represents
Polish:
wyraz dźwiękonaśladowczy
— word that sounds like what it represents
Portuguese:
onomatopeia
— word that sounds like what it represents
Punjabi:
صوت
(ṣot)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Punjabi:
ਸੌਤ
(saut)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Romanian:
onomatopee
— word that sounds like what it represents
Russian:
звукоподража́ние
(zvukopodražánije)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Russian:
ономатопе́я
(onomatopéja)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Serbo-Croatian:
ономатопе́ја
— word that sounds like what it represents
Serbo-Croatian:
onomatopéja
— word that sounds like what it represents
Shuar:
métek-chícham
— word that sounds like what it represents
Spanish:
onomatopeya
— word that sounds like what it represents
Tagalog:
sintunog
— word that sounds like what it represents
Tagalog:
onomatopeya
— word that sounds like what it represents
Turkish:
onomatope
— word that sounds like what it represents
Turkish:
yansıma sözcük
— word that sounds like what it represents
Ukrainian:
звуконаслі́дування
(zvukonaslíduvannja)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Ukrainian:
ономатопе́я
(onomatopéja)
— word that sounds like what it represents
Vietnamese:
từ tượng thanh
— word that sounds like what it represents
Welsh:
onomatopeia
— word that sounds like what it represents