3 syllables: e, clip, sing. Stress on clip.
/ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/
Say it backEclipsing refers to the act of obscuring one celestial body by another, or more generally, to surpassing or outshining something. In astronomy, it describes moments when the Moon covers a star or the Sun, causing a temporary dimming. In metaphorical use, it can mean dominating or overshadowing someone or something.
- You’ll often flatten the second syllable: keep a crisp /klɪp/ rather than turning it into /kliːp/; - The final /ŋ/ is nasal and not a hard 'g' sound; ensure your tongue rises to the soft palate to emit a clean /ŋ/ - Stress shift error: place the primary stress on the second syllable; misplacing it to the first or third syllable weakens the word. - Avoid deleting the /s/ in the middle; the /p.s/ should be crisp, not merged; practice with minimal pairs such as eclipse vs eclipsing to hear the difference.
"During the solar eclipse, the sky darkened as the Moon began eclipsing the Sun."
"The company's new product is eclipsing its rivals in market share."
"Her research eclipsed previous findings, setting a new standard."
You pronounce it as /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/ in US and UK: the first syllable e- sounds like short ‘ih’; stress on the second syllable ‘clip’; final -sing sounds like ‘sing’ with a soft n. Mouth: start with a short, relaxed /ɪ/, then an explosive /klɪp/ cluster, and finish with /sɪŋ/. Think: ih-KLIP-sing. Audio references can be found on Pronounce and Forvo.
Common errors: (1) misplacing stress, saying /ˈiːklɪpsɪŋ/ or /ˈklɪpˌsɪŋ/; (2) mispronouncing the /kl/ cluster as separate sounds or cutesy; (3) final /ŋ/ not nasalized; correction: stress the 2nd syllable, produce /kl/ as a tight cluster after /ɪ/ and finish with a clear /ŋ/. Practicing with minimal pairs helps lock in accurate rhythm.
In US and UK, the initial vowel is lax /ɪ/ and the /ɪ/ in all syllables remains short. Australia typically keeps a similar vowel but with more centralized /ɪ/; rhotic influence may vary: US is rhotic, UK is non-rhotic in many accents, AU often rhotic but with vowel shifts. The main differences are vowel length and the exact quality of /ɪ/ and /e/ before /kl/. IPA for reference: US /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/, UK /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/, AU /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/.
Key challenges: maintaining the short, lax /ɪ/ vowels in both the first and second syllables; rapid /kl/ cluster after the stressed syllable; final /sɪŋ/ sequence with a clear nasal. The tri-syllabic rhythm (e-clip-sing) can tempt you to reduce or swallow sounds; focus on keeping the burst of /k/ before the /l/ and a clean /ŋ/ instead of a nasalized vowel. IPA helps map the precise tongue positions.
There are no silent letters in eclipsing; every letter contributes to pronunciation: e- can be reduced sound in the first syllable, but letters e, c, l, i, p, s, i, n, g all participate in producing /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/.
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- US: rhoticity leads to a slightly more pronounced /ɹ/ preceding vowels; keep the central /ɪ/ sound consistent. - UK: non-rhotic tendencies may reduce post-vocalic r; ensure no extra r-like sound is added; - AU: vowel shift tends toward more centralized /ɪ/ and a sometimes longer /iː/ to reflect Australian English. For all, emphasize /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/ with stiff lip rounding minimal. IPA references: US /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/, UK /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/, AU /ɪˈklɪp.sɪŋ/.
Eclipsing derives from the combination of the prefix e- (from Latin ex- meaning out, away) and the verb ‘eclipse.’ The root is the Greek adjective ‘eklektos’? (This needs correction: actual etymology). In fact, eclipse comes from Latin eclipsus, past participle of eclipsare, which itself stems from Greek ekleipts? The Greek source widely cited is ekleipsis (ἑκλεψις), meaning ‘a theft, seizure, eclipse,’ from ek-, meaning out, and lepsis, meaning take, seize. The English verb eclipse appeared in the 17th century, adopting the noun form’s metaphorical extension to darkness or overshadowing. The participle form eclipsing follows standard English -ing formation of verbs. First known use of eclipse in its astronomical sense is attested in Latin translations of classical authors and by the 1660s in English astronomical discourse, with eclipsing usage soon after to describe the act of the Moon covering the Sun or a star. Over time, eclipse broadens to general metaphorical meaning—‘to overshadow’ or ‘to outshine,’ culminating in contemporary usage in science, business, and culture. The verb form eclipsing became common as present participle, enabling progressive nuance, such as “is eclipsing” or “was eclipsing.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "eclipsing" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "eclipsing"
-ing sounds
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