Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tic-tac-toe

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.91 in modern English

Syllables
tic--tac--toe
IPA
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
5
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A game in which two players take turns placing circles and crosses on a 3x3 grid and attempt to obtain three of the same symbols in a straight line.

Uncountable

Etymology

Imitative; from tick-tack, used earlier to denote games in which the pieces made clicking sounds.

Usage

Inflected Forms

tick-tack-toe (alternative) tick-tat-toe (alternative) tit-tat-toe (alternative) tic tac toe (alternative) tick tat toe (alternative) tit tat toe (alternative)

Synonyms

noughts and crosses naughts and crosses X's and O's exie-osies zeroes and crosses zero cross X O X-O

Questions

What does tic-tac-toe mean?
A game in which two players take turns placing circles and crosses on a 3x3 grid and attempt to obtain three of the same symbols in a straight line.
Where does tic-tac-toe come from?
Imitative; from tick-tack, used earlier to denote games in which the pieces made clicking sounds.

How to pronounce tic-tac-toe

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tic-tac-toe”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tic-tac-toe”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tic-tac-toe” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.