floating
adjectiveStaying on top of water or moving slowly through the air without falling.
adjectiveNot fixed in one place and able to move around.
nounThings that stay on top of water or another liquid.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: FL Blend
F and L blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'flag' and 'fly'.
The blend FL combines /f/ and /l/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: OA Vowel Team
When O and A are together, they say long O, like in 'boat' and 'road'.
The vowel team 'oa' reliably makes the long O sound /oʊ/. This is one of the more consistent vowel teams.
Tip
O and A in a boat — O does the talking!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
The letter T makes the /t/ sound, like in 'top', 'tap', and 'ten'. The tongue tip taps behind the upper teeth.
T is a voiceless alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth and releases with a puff of air. Double T (tt) makes the same /t/ sound.
Tip
T taps — touch your tongue to make /t/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -ING
Adding -ING to a verb shows something is happening right now, like 'running' and 'playing'.
The suffix -ing is added to verbs to show an ongoing action (present participle). Sometimes the base word changes: drop silent E ('make' → 'making'), double final consonant ('run' → 'running').
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.
