swarms
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
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 /ɔːr/
After W, the letters AR say /ɔːr/ instead of /ɑːr/, like in 'war' and 'warm'.
W changes the sound of AR: instead of the /ɑːr/ in 'car', AR after W says /ɔːr/ (the 'or' sound): war, warm, ward, swarm, dwarf.
Tip
W changes AR to OR — war, warm, ward!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter 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)
After voiced sounds, -S says /z/, like in 'dogs' and 'birds'.
After voiced consonants and vowels, the plural -s says /z/. Most people don't notice this — it sounds natural.
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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