Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

eff

/ɛf/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.39 in modern English

Syllables: eff
IPA: /ɛf/

9

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

1

Syllables

2

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Alternative spelling of ef; the name of the Latin script letter F/f.

verb

Synonym of fuck.

Slang

verb

To put into words; to express.

name

Initialism of Electronic Frontier Foundation.

name

Initialism of Economic Freedom Fighters.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of eff.

Example Sentences

"Why against printers all this noise? This summoning of blackguard boys? Why so sagacious in your guesses? Your effs, and tees, and arrs, and eſſes? Take my advice; to make you safe, I know a shorter way be half."
"‘Eff. You. En,’ said Mr Banstead. ‘Fun![…]’"
"A or an? When an indefinite article precedes an acronym or initialism, the choice between a and an follows from the pronunciation: / a FAQ file (“fack”; but “an FAQ file” with the alternate pronunciation “eff-ay-cue”) / an FTC commissioner (“eff-tee-cee”)"
"‘S-S-C…sitting on a tree…eff-you-cee-kay-i-en-ji.’"
"Eff off!"
"And he kept saying, "Effing this, effing that.""

Etymology

From the name of the letter f (see etymology 1), the initial letter of fuck. Compare pee.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: effor

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

effs (plural) effs (present, singular) effing (participle, present) effed (participle, past) effed (past)

Derived Forms

effell effable effer effing

Phrases

eff why eye eff all eff and blind eff and jeff eff off eff up what the eff

Frequently Paired Words

effable ineffable NP DA ANC IFP ASA ACDP

Synonyms

feck frak frig fork funk fuck sleep together roll in the hay love make out make love sleep with

Homonyms

ef

Rhymes With

jeff chef deaf af ref def gf raf geoff steph ef neff

Questions

How do you pronounce eff?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɛf/.
What does eff mean?: Alternative spelling of ef; the name of the Latin script letter F/f.
Where does eff come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce eff

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