Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

's

/ɪz/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.86 in modern English

Syllables: 's
IPA: /ɪz/

1

Scrabble Score

1

Letters

1

Syllables

1

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Contraction of is.

verb

Contraction of has.

verb

Contraction of was.

verb

Contraction of does, used only with the auxiliary meaning of does and only after interrogative words.

Informal

contraction

Contraction of it's.

Colloquial

pron

Contraction of us, found in the formula let's which is used to form first-person plural imperatives.

det

Contraction of his.

conj

Contraction of as, when it is (nonstandardly) used as a relative conjunction, or like a relative pronoun, meaning "that".

British usage

Example Sentences

"The dog’s running after me!"
"The dog’s been chasing the mail carrier again."
"It’s a beautiful day yesterday so I’s at the park."
"What’s he do for a living?"
"What’s it say?"
"What’s it mean? It means nothing."

Etymology

Contractions of various words ending in s.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪz/
British English: /ɪz/

Usage

Inflected Forms

’s (canonical) ’s (alternative)

Derived Forms

so's all's

Phrases

-'s -’s

Frequently Paired Words

s' apostrophe contraction 'd ’d 'll ’ll 'm

Homonyms

-s -'s

Rhymes With

s s. u.s. ṡ

Questions

How do you pronounce 's?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪz/.
What does 's mean?: Contraction of is.
Where does 's come from?: Contractions of various words ending in s.

How to pronounce 's

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “'s”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪz/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “'s”.
Repeat and practice — Say “'s” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.