Meaning & use
onsets
Last updated
“onsets” is a form of “onset”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nouncountabletechnicalspecialist
In phonetics, the consonant or consonants that come before the vowel in a syllable.
Grammar: Countable: a syllable has one onset; languages allow different onsets.
Patterns
- a syllable onset
- complex onsets
- the onset of a syllable
In the word 'strengths', the onset is /str/.
English allows up to three consonants in a syllable onset.
Linguists study how children acquire onsets and codas.
Word forms
| singular | onset |
|---|
Common combinations
- syllable onset
- The syllable onset in 'cat' is /k/.
- complex onset
- Languages differ in whether they allow complex onsets like /pl/.
- onset and coda
- Phonologists describe syllables in terms of onset and coda.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- onset noun
- The beginning of something, especially something unpleasant; also the technical sense in phonetics.
Commonly confused: onsets or offset?
onsets vs offset
Offset is a related term in phonetics but means the end of a syllable, not the beginning.
Practice
In phonetics, what is the 'onset' of a syllable?
Choose one answer.
The onset is the consonant(s) at the beginning of a syllable, before the vowel. The coda is the final consonant(s), and the nucleus is the vowel.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “onsets”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.