toe
nounOne of the five digits at the end of your foot.
nounThe part of a shoe or sock that covers the front of your foot.
nounOne of the five digits at the end of an animal's foot.
verbTo touch or kick something lightly with your toes.
nounA style of ballet dancing performed on the tips of the toes using special shoes.
Phonics breakdown
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: Open Syllable O (Long O)
When O is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the O says its name /oʊ/ — like in 'go' and 'no'.
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 O at the end of a syllable says /oʊ/ (go, no, so, o-pen). The O also says its long name in the 'old' and 'ost' families (cold, most). The long O sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (home) or vowel teams (oa in boat, ow in snow) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long O says its name — O!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Short E
The letter E makes a short sound, like in 'bed' and 'red'.
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound /ɛ/. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says /ɛ/ like an egg on your head.
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.