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Glite Dictionary
plosive consonant

plosive consonant

6.3
A speech sound, like p or b, made by stopping the air and then letting it out quickly
  • noun
  • /ˈploʊsɪv ˈkɒnsənənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : consonante plosiva
  • The teacher demonstrated how to pronounce plosive consonants by blocking air with her lips.

Examples

  • English has both voiced and voiceless plosive consonants in its sound system.

  • Children often struggle with plosive consonants when first learning to speak.

  • Can you identify a plosive consonant in this word?

  • A plosive consonant is produced by blocking airflow.

  • Children often struggle with plosive consonants when first learning to speak.

  • English has both voiced and voiceless plosive consonants in its sound system.

  • The teacher demonstrated how to pronounce plosive consonants by blocking air with her lips.

Synonyms

stop
vsplosive consonant
  • Specialized
4 6.0

A consonant sound made by blocking the air and then releasing it

is the more formal, descriptive name used in phonetics
occlusive
vsplosive consonant
  • Specialized
8.8

A speech sound made by stopping the breath completely and then letting it out

is the common descriptive label for the same blocked-release sound
plosive
vsplosive consonant
  • Specialized
7.7

A consonant sound made by stopping air in the mouth then letting it out suddenly, like p or b

is the fuller two-word label rather than the single-word term
stop consonant
vsplosive consonant
  • Specialized
6.3

A sound you make when you block air and then let it out quickly

is the shorter, less technical label for the same sound

Surface Forms

plosive consonant singular
plosive consonants plural

Morphology

plosive + consonant

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'plosive' (a consonant produced by blocking airflow) with 'consonant' (a phonetic sound formed by obstructing vocal-tract airflow). This straightforward noun–noun compound repeats and specifies the same phonetic concept and follows common English compounding patterns, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Plosive consonant comes from the idea of a small 'burst' of air: plosive suggests the burst and consonant means a speech sound. You make these sounds by blocking the air with your lips or tongue and then suddenly letting it go, which makes a quick 'pop', so the term now names sounds like 'p', 'b', 't', 'd', 'k', and 'g'.