worship
verbTo show deep respect and love for God or a god through prayer and religious ceremonies.
nounReligious services and prayers that people do to show respect for God or a god.
verbTo love someone or something so much that you think they are perfect.
nounA title used to speak politely to judges and other important officials.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter W
The letter W makes the /w/ sound, like in 'win', 'wet', and 'web'. The lips round into an O shape.
W is a voiced bilabial approximant — the lips round tightly then open as voice flows. W is sometimes silent (write, wrong) and can act as a vowel in some combinations (aw, ew, ow).
Tip
W rounds your lips — make an O then say /w/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled OR (as /ɜːr/)
After W, the letters OR say /ɜːr/ instead of /ɔːr/ — like 'word' and 'work'.
When OR follows W, it makes the /ɜːr/ sound (same as ER, IR, UR). This is a small but predictable group of words. Companion rule to r_controlled_or.
Tip
W+OR sounds like ER — work, word, world!
Examples
Phonics Rule: SH Digraph
S and H together make the quiet sound /ʃ/, like in 'ship' and 'fish'.
The digraph 'sh' makes the /ʃ/ sound. Think of the 'shh, be quiet' sound. It can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
Tip
SH says 'shhh' — be quiet on the ship!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Schwa
In unstressed syllables, vowels often make a lazy 'uh' sound called schwa, like the A in 'about'.
Schwa /ə/ 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 P
The letter P makes the /p/ sound, like in 'pan', 'pig', and 'pot'. Both lips press together then pop open.
P is a voiceless bilabial stop — both lips press together and release with a puff of air but no voice. It pairs with B (which is the voiced version of the same mouth position).
Tip
P pops open — press your lips and let it POP!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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