Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

big apple

/ˈbɪˌɡæ.pəl/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.71 in modern English

Syllables
big ap-ple
IPA
/ˈbɪˌɡæ.pəl/
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Nickname for New York City: a major city in New York, United States.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald in horse-racing articles in the 1920s - an apple being a treat for a horse, and New York being a prize location for horse-racing at the time. From usage among African American stable hands. See the Wikipedia article. The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York.

Inflected Forms

the Big Apple (canonical)

Phrases

Big Peach

Frequently Paired Words

Big Peach

Questions

How do you pronounce big apple?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɪˌɡæ.pəl/.
What does big apple mean?
Nickname for New York City: a major city in New York, United States.
Where does big apple come from?
Popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald in horse-racing articles in the 1920s - an apple being a treat for a horse, and New York being a prize location for horse-racing at the time. From usage among African American stable hands. See the Wikipedia article. The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York.

How to pronounce big apple

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