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.
shô
Received-Pronunciation:/ʃɔː/
General-American:/ʃɔ/
General-American:/ʃɑ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɔː
homophone: shaw
homophone: Shaw
zĭks.jōʹän
Received-Pronunciation:/zɪksˈd͡ʒəʊ̯.ɑːn/
General-American:/zɪksˈd͡ʒoʊ̯.ɑn/
1
noun
Meaning 1
A fictitious instrument, supposedly a type of Maori drum.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: ghost word
Examples
For quotations using this term, see Citations:zzxjoanw.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Coined ex nihilo by American writer Rupert Hughes in 1903 as a joke.