cage
nounAn enclosure made of bars or wires to hold animals safely.
verbTo put an animal into an enclosure made of bars.
nounSomething that stops a person from being free to do what they want.
nounA prison cell or prison.
nounThe passenger compartment inside a lift.
nounThe protective wire mask on the front of a helmet.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Hard C
C makes the /k/ sound before A, O, U, or a consonant, like in 'cat' and 'cup'.
The letter C makes the hard /k/ sound when followed by A, O, U, or a consonant. This is the default C sound. Examples: cat, cup, coat, cold, crab, class.
Tip
C says K before A, O, U — cat, cup, coat!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable A (Long A)
When A is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the A says its name /eɪ/ — like in 'ba-by' and 'pa-per'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves that vowel 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone A at the end of a syllable says /eɪ/ (ba-by, a-pron, lady). The long A sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (cake), or vowel teams (ai in rain, ay in play) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long A says its name — A!
Examples
Phonics Rule: GE says /dʒ/
GE at the end of a word says /dʒ/ (the J sound), like in 'large' and 'page'.
At the end of a word, GE says /dʒ/. It follows a long vowel or consonant (large, page, cage, huge, stage), where DGE follows a short vowel (bridge, badge).
Tip
GE at the end says J — large, page, huge!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
A phonics reference for teachers, parents and learners. Every English word, broken into the sounds that make it — with audio, syllables, and the rule behind each spelling.
Save words to study lists, build flashcard decks, and scan your own worksheets and books.