Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

terracotta

/ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɑt.ə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English

Syllables: ter-ra-cot-ta
IPA: /ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɑt.ə/

12

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A hard red-brown unglazed earthenware, used for pottery and building construction.

Uncountable

noun

A reddish brown colour, like that of terra cotta.

Uncountable

adj

Of the colour of terracotta.

Example Sentences

"Among her busts in terra cotta are those of John Brown, Charles Sumner, Lincoln, and Longfellow."
"A dull red or terracotta brown is far better, and sets off the foliage of Palms or Ferns to greater advantage."
"She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet."
"But let's not judge them by the content of their character. Let's judge them by the colour of their skin, which is terracotta."

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian terra (“earth”) + cotta (“baked”).

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: *ters-, *pekʷ-, terra

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɑt.ə/
British English: /ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɒt.ə/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

terracottas (plural) terra cotta (alternative) terra-cotta (alternative)

Derived Forms

terracottalike

Frequently Paired Words

haniwa Xi'an

Synonyms

terra cotta

Rhymes With

gotta mata lotta sonata ata janata plata regatta cotta fatah ricotta renata

Questions

How do you pronounce terracotta?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɑt.ə/.
What does terracotta mean?: A hard red-brown unglazed earthenware, used for pottery and building construction.
Where does terracotta come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce terracotta

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