smother
PronouncedSMUH-ther
verbTo cover someone or something so thickly that they cannot breathe.
verbTo cover a fire so that it goes out.
verbTo stop something from growing or developing.
verbTo cook something in a closed dish with a covering.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: SM Blend
Sound“sm”·/sm/
S and M blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'small' and 'smile'.
The blend SM combines /s/ and /m/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: O says “uh”
Sound“uh”·/ʌ/
O sometimes says the “uh” sound (like short U), like in 'son', 'love', and 'month'.
In a set of common words, O says “uh” instead of short “o”: son, won, month, mother, brother, love, glove, dove, dozen, oven, money, honey.
Tip
O can say uh — son, love, month!
Examples
Phonics Rule: TH Digraph (Voiced)
Sound“th”·/ð/
TH can make a buzzy sound “th”, like in 'this' and 'the'. You can feel your throat vibrate!
The voiced TH “th” is the vibrating version. Put your hand on your throat — you can feel it buzz. This sound appears in very common words like 'the', 'this', 'that', 'they'.
Tip
Voiced TH buzzes — this, that, the!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -ER
Sound“er”·/ɜːr/
Adding -ER can mean 'more' (bigger) or 'a person who' (teacher).
The suffix -er has two main uses: comparative ('big' → 'bigger' = more big) and agent ('teach' → 'teacher' = a person who teaches).
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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