Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

polio

/ˈpoʊlioʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.27 in modern English

Syllables: po-lio
IPA: /ˈpoʊlioʊ/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

3

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Abbreviation of poliomyelitis.

Uncountable

noun

A person who has poliomyelitis.

Countable; Informal

name

A surname from Spanish.

Example Sentences

"They don't need social service workers running back and forth every month or two to see if the polios are playing stickball in the street because they never will."
"The “polios” (as they called themselves) in Warm Springs didn't deny the seriousness of their health issues or the impairments to their physiology. But their most critical struggle, they claimed, involved healing sorely wounded spirits."

Etymology

First element of polio(myelitis).

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: *pelH-, Polio

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpoʊlioʊ/
British English: /ˈpəʊljəʊ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

polios (plural)

Derived Forms

antipolio DPT nonpolio postpolio

Synonyms

poliomyelitis infantile paralysis acute anterior poliomyelitis

Rhymes With

portfolio oleo folio imbroglio

Questions

How do you pronounce polio?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpoʊlioʊ/.
What does polio mean?: Abbreviation of poliomyelitis.
Where does polio come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce polio

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