Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

viaduct

/ˈvaɪəˌdʌk(t)/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables: via-duct
IPA: /ˈvaɪəˌdʌk(t)/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A bridge with several spans that carries rail or road traffic over a valley or other obstacles.

Example Sentences

"[…] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit."
"The L.C.C. [London County Council] considers viaducts in London objectionable and a hindrance to town planning and would like to abolish all the Southern Railway lines on viaducts in South London. [Nothing much happened, they still exist.]"

Etymology

Coined in 1816, from Latin via (“highway; road”) + English -duct, on the basis of aqueduct.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *weyh₁-, via

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈvaɪəˌdʌk(t)/
British English: /ˈvaɪədʌkt/

Inflected Forms

viaducts (plural)

Derived Forms

ecoduct viaducted

Phrases

half viaduct

Frequently Paired Words

aqueduct

Questions

How do you pronounce viaduct?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvaɪəˌdʌk(t)/.
What does viaduct mean?: A bridge with several spans that carries rail or road traffic over a valley or other obstacles.
Where does viaduct come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce viaduct

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “viaduct”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈvaɪəˌdʌk(t)/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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