Phrase guide

sound shift

noun · 1 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

a regular sound change, especially when several phonemes are synchronously affected in analogous ways, and/or when there are several interlinked phases

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

Examples

  • The Great Vowel Shift was the main sound shift shaping modern English.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Likely a calque of German Lautverschiebung.