Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cold sore

/ˈkoʊld ˌsɔɹ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.95 in modern English

Syllables
cold -sore
IPA
/ˈkoʊld ˌsɔɹ/
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A small bump (namely a vesicle) on the lips resulting from infection by herpes simplex viruses (mostly HHV1 but also HHV2).

Etymology

Compound of cold + sore, probably for the tendency of the vesicles to recur along with other illness, or possibly during cold weather, though this explanation is less common. Compare synonym fever blister.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkoʊld ˌsɔɹ/

Inflected Forms

cold sores (plural)

Synonyms

fever blister herpes herpes labialis herpes simplex herpes simplex 1 oral herpes

Questions

How do you pronounce cold sore?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkoʊld ˌsɔɹ/.
What does cold sore mean?
A small bump (namely a vesicle) on the lips resulting from infection by herpes simplex viruses (mostly HHV1 but also HHV2).
Where does cold sore come from?
Compound of cold + sore, probably for the tendency of the vesicles to recur along with other illness, or possibly during cold weather, though this explanation is less common. Compare synonym fever blister.

How to pronounce cold sore

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