stamps
/stæmps/
stamps is pronounced stamps (/stæmps/). Stamps is the plural noun or verb form derived from stamp: small adhesive labels or official seals, used to mail letters or to mark or impress a surface. As a verb, it means to press down or to walk heavily; as a noun, it denotes a collection of postage stamps or the action of stamping something. The word is concise, the sense clear, and its pronunciation centers on a single stressed syllable before the final /s/.
Stamps is the plural noun or verb form derived from stamp: small adhesive labels or official seals, used to mail letters or to mark or impress a surface. As a verb, it means to press down or to walk heavily; as a noun, it denotes a collection of postage stamps or the action of stamping something. The word is concise, the sense clear, and its pronunciation centers on a single stressed syllable before the final /s/.
"She bought a book of stamps at the post office."
"The gatekeeper stamped the visitor’s pass before entry."
"Children collect stamps from different countries."
Stamps is pronounced with a single stressed syllable: /stæmps/. Start with the open front lax vowel /æ/ as in 'cat', then quickly move to the consonant cluster /m/ followed by /p/ and /s/ in a tight sequence. There is no vowel between /m/ and /p/, so the transition is a compact /mps/ cluster. The final /s/ is unvoiced. Practicing saying /stæm/ first, then release into the final /ps/ to ensure the /p/ is released before the /s/.
Two common errors: (1) inserting a vowel between /m/ and /p/, saying /stæməps/ or /stæmpəs/, which blurs the tight cluster. (2) Voicing the final /s/, turning it into /z/ as in /stæmpz/. Correction: keep /m/ immediately followed by the aspirated /p/ release, then briskly transition to /s/ without vowel. Practice with a tiny pause after /m/ if needed, then blend into the /ps/ cluster at a fast tempo.
In US English (rhotic), /stæmps/ with a clear /æ/ and a unvoiced /s/. UK/non-rhotic varieties also have /stæmps/ but may feature a crisper final /s/ and slightly more tensed jaw. Australian English tends to have a slightly broader vowel near /æ/ and a more spread vowel to /æ/ depending on speaker, but the final cluster remains /mps/. Across accents, the main variation is vowel quality in /æ/ and the exact release timing of /p/ before /s/.
The difficulty comes from the consonant cluster /mps/ after the vowel. In many accents, /m/ and /p/ share close articulatory timing, and the abrupt /p/ release into /s/ is a rapid transition. Also, keeping the /æ/ vowel short and the final /s/ unvoiced requires precise voicing control. Practicing with minimal pairs and syllable-by-syllable breakdown helps you coordinate tongue position for the /m/, /p/, and /s/ without inserting vowels.
The most unique aspect is the /mps/ consonant cluster that blends /m/ with a hard /p/ release leading directly to an /s/. Learners often voice the /p/ or fail to release it clearly before the /s/. The fix is to practice a quick, unvoiced /p/ release followed immediately by a clear /s/, keeping the /æ/ short. This needle-like transition is what distinguishes fluent pronunciation from stammered or lispy renditions.
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Stamp enters English through Middle English stempien from Old French estamper, meaning to strike or to impression with a stamp. The French verb came from estampe, meaning an impression or seal, which itself derives from Latin stampare, stamp- meaning to press or engrave. The sense broadened from a physical seal to postage stamps in the 19th century as adhesive gummed papers and official seals became commonplace. The noun ‘stamp’ also generalized to the act of stamping (pressing down) or stamping as a group of marks. The plural ‘stamps’ is simply the third-person singular and plural form of the noun and verb, maintaining the stress on the first syllable. The word’s earliest attestations in English date from the 14th–15th centuries, with its modern postal-related sense solidified in the 19th century alongside formalized postal systems. Over time, stamp has also taken on figurative meanings (time stamps, passport stamps) in various domains, but the core tactile sense of pressing a mark remains dominant in common usage.
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Words that rhyme with "stamps"
-ams sounds
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