plosives

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   Speech sounds made by briefly blocking air in the mouth and then releasing it with a small burst, such as p, t and k.

   Grammar: Countable: the plosives are produced with a closure.

   Patterns

   • plosives such as /p/ and /t/

   The sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/ are voiceless plosives in English.

   Learners sometimes find aspirated plosives hard to produce.

   A pop filter reduces the burst of air from plosives when singing.

2. 2nounpluralspecialist

   In audio recording, sudden bursts of air from sounds like p and b that cause thumps in the microphone.

   Grammar: Used in sound engineering: reduce the plosives.

   Patterns

   • plosives on the recording

   The editor removed the plosives from the podcast.

   Standing too close to the mic increases plosives.

   A foam cover on the microphone softens plosives.

Word forms

Common combinations

voiceless plosives

P, t and k are voiceless plosives.

voiced plosives

B, d and g are voiced plosives.

aspirated plosives

Aspirated plosives have a puff of air after them.

reduce plosives

A pop shield helps reduce plosives.

Synonyms and how they differ

stops

Stops is another term for the same sounds, often used in American textbooks, while plosives focuses on the burst of air.

stop consonants

Stop consonants is a longer label for plosives, used when clarifying the type of consonant.

fricatives

Fricatives such as s and f are not synonyms but contrast: they make a continuous hissing, not a burst.

Opposites

Word family

plosive adjective

describing a sound made with a burst of air

plosion noun

the sudden release of air in a sound

explosive adjective

relating to a sudden release, though not a speech term

consonant noun

a speech sound made by blocking or narrowing the breath

Commonly confused: plosives or explosives?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “plosives”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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