One syllable: Mice.
meyes
/maɪs/
Mice is pronounced meyes (/maɪs/). It has one syllable (Mice), with the stress on "Mice". Mice is the plural form of mouse and, as a verb, means to move quietly or to fish for information by slyly gathering data. In common usage, it can describe small, quiet movements or the act of secretly probing or spying. The word typically appears in past tense as 'miced' in specialized contexts or in phrases like 'to mice around' in informal speech.
verbMice is the plural form of mouse and, as a verb, means to move quietly or to fish for information by slyly gathering data. In common usage, it can describe small, quiet movements or the act of secretly probing or spying. The word typically appears in past tense as 'miced' in specialized contexts or in phrases like 'to mice around' in informal speech.
"- The cat crouched in the corner and mice its way toward the cheese."
"- In the stakeout, the reporter miced around the building for any sign of the source."
"- The mouse in the lab was used to mices of experimental behavior (informal)."
Pronounce as /maɪs/. It’s a single-stressed syllable with a long /aɪ/ vowel (as in 'my') followed by /s/. Tips: start with your mouth slightly open, raise the tongue high for the /aɪ/ glide, then glide into the voiceless /s/ with a sharp, hiss-like release. You can listen to native instances on Pronounce or YouGlish for quick reference. IPA: /maɪs/.
Two frequent errors: (1) Reducing /aɪ/ to a shorter schwa, making it sound like /məs/; (2) Voicing the final /s/—you should have a clear voiceless /s/ without adding a zibilized sound. To fix: practice the transition from /aɪ/ to /s/ with a crisp, quick release; check the tongue tip near the alveolar ridge and avoid trying to voice the /s/. Slow practice with breath control helps, then speed up.
In US, UK, and AU, 'Mice' is /maɪs/ with the same vowel, but rhoticity and flapping influence nearby speech: US may have a more velarized or clearer /s/ at the end; UK tends to crisper /s/ and less vowel length variation; Australian often features a slightly reduced vowel duration before /s/ and a more centralized vowel color in casual speech. The core /maɪ/ nucleus remains; the consonant /s/ is consistently voiceless across accents.
The difficulty lies in producing the long diphthong /aɪ/ smoothly into a voiceless alveolar fricative /s/. The transition requires precise tongue height and glide timing: start with a higher tongue position for /aɪ/ and quickly move to the blade near the alveolar ridge for /s/. Any voicing or lisp can blur the boundary. Also, ensure the air is released with a crisp, unvoiced /s/.
In verb sense, the pronunciation stays /maɪs/, but the context matters for intonation. When used as a verb in isolation, you might stress it slightly as a fast, clipped action—"to mice around". For longer phrases, keep the /aɪ/ durable and end with a sharp /s/. The meaning comes from the preceding context and the rest of the sentence, which can influence your natural rhythm.
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US: /maɪs/ with a clear, sharp /s/ at the end; vowel may be slightly longer in careful speech. UK: often crisper /s/ and slightly tighter jaw position; /aɪ/ remains the same but may be less centralized. AU: vowel is typically slightly more centralized, with a tad more mouth relaxation; aim for the same /maɪs/ nucleus but with a softer lip rounding and more relaxed jaw. The key is to keep the final /s/ unvoiced across all.
Mice as a noun (plural of mouse) derives from Old English mus, from Proto-Germanic musiz, with cognates in many Germanic languages. The verb form “to mice” is informal and rare, built metaphorically from the noun as a metaphor for small, stealthy movements or stalling tactics. The noun mouse has Indo-European roots linked to the idea of a creature that moves stealthily and bites, and the verb usage appears in late 19th to 20th-century slang, often in journalism or espionage contexts, evolving to convey careful, quiet movement or data-gathering behavior. First known use as a verb is documented in colloquial English around the mid-20th century, though the exact origin is dispersed in regional dialects, with later popularization through media, fiction, and investigative reporting.
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Help others use "Mice" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "Mice" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Mice" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Mice"
-ice sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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