swarms
PronouncedSWARMZ
nounLarge groups of insects moving together, especially bees flying to a new home.
nounCrowds of people or animals moving together.
verbMove together in a large group.
verbAre full of insects or people all over the place.
verbClimb up something by holding with hands and legs.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: SW Blend
Sound“sw”·/sw/
SW blends /s/ and /w/ together, like in 'swim', 'sweet', and 'swing'.
SW appears only at the beginning of words or syllables. Both sounds are clearly heard — the /s/ hiss followed immediately by the /w/ glide.
Tip
SW swoops — /sw/ swim, sweet, swing!
Examples
Phonics Rule: W changes AR to “or”
Sound“or”·/ɔːr/
After W, the letters AR say “or” instead of “ar”, like in 'war' and 'warm'.
W changes the sound of AR: instead of the “ar” in 'car', AR after W says “or” (the 'or' sound): war, warm, ward, swarm, dwarf.
Tip
W changes AR to OR — war, warm, ward!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter M
Sound“m”·/m/
The letter M makes the /m/ sound, like in 'map', 'mud', and 'mop'. Both lips press together with voice through the nose.
M is a voiced bilabial nasal — both lips press together while the voice hums through the nose. Double M (mm) makes the same /m/ sound.
Tip
M hums like mmm — press your lips and hum!
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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