Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

stevedore

/ˈstivəˌdɔɹ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.89 in modern English

Syllables
ste-ve-dore
IPA
/ˈstivəˌdɔɹ/
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To load or unload a ship's cargo.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Spanish estibador (cognate with Portuguese estivador, and compare Medieval Latin stivator), from estivar, estibar (“to load”), from Medieval Latin stivare, stīpāre (compare Italian stivare, stipare), the present active infinitive of stīpō (“to cram, fill, stuff”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *steypos, which is from the root Proto-Indo-European *steyp-. It is cognate with stiff through Proto-Indo-European. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was attested in 1788 in the early form stowadore (see the quotations). It was included in the 1st edition of Webster’s Dictionary (1828) as stevedore.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: estibador, stivare, *steypos, *steyp-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈstivəˌdɔɹ/
  • British English: /ˈstiːvəˌdɔː(ɹ)/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce stevedore?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈstivəˌdɔɹ/.
What does stevedore mean?
A dockworker involved in loading and unloading cargo, or in supervising such work.
Where does stevedore come from?
It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce stevedore

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