priorities
Pronouncedpreye-AW-ruh-teez
nounThings that are more important than other things and should be done or dealt with first.
nounThings that a person or group wants to achieve or cares most about.
nounThe right to go before or be served before other people or things.
Syllables
4 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: PR Blend
Sound“pr”·/pr/
P and R blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'print' and 'price'.
The blend PR combines /p/ and /r/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable I (Long I)
Sound“eye”·/aɪ/
When I is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the I says its name “eye” — like in 'hi' and 'fi-nal'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves it 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone I at the end of a syllable says “eye” (hi, si-lent). The I also says its long name before two consonants in the 'ind' and 'ild' families (find, kind, child, mild). The long I sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (bike) or igh (night) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long I says its name — I!
Examples
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled OR
Sound“or”·/ɔːr/
When R comes after O, it makes the “or” sound, like in 'for' and 'corn'.
OR makes the “or” sound. Unlike ER, IR, UR which all sound the same, OR has its own distinct sound. The companion rule r_controlled_or_er covers the “er” pronunciation after W (word, work).
Tip
OR — the horse in the corner says “or”!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Schwa
Sound“uh”·/ə/
In unstressed syllables, vowels often make a lazy 'uh' sound called schwa, like the A in 'about'.
Schwa “uh” is the most common vowel sound in English. Any vowel letter can make the schwa sound when it's in an unstressed syllable. It sounds like a quick, lazy 'uh'.
Tip
Schwa is lazy — any vowel can say 'uh' when it's not stressed!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
Sound“t”·/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: Open Syllable E (Long E)
Sound“ee”·/iː/
When E is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the E says its name “ee” — like in 'he' and 'me'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves it 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone E at the end of a syllable says “ee” (he, me, we, be). The long E sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — vowel teams (ee in tree, ea in read) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long E says its name — E!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/z/ sound)
Sound“z”·/z/
After a buzzing sound or a vowel, the plural ending says /z/ — like 'dogs' and 'shoes'.
Put a finger on your throat and say 'zzzz' — you feel a buzz. When the word ends in a buzzing (voiced) sound or a vowel, the plural ending buzzes too and says /z/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (dogs) or -es (shoes, trees), because in shoes the e is silent and only the s is sounded. Most people never notice they are doing this.
Examples
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