Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rale

/ɹɑl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.65 in modern English

Syllables: rale
IPA: /ɹɑl/

4

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An abnormal clicking, rattling or crackling sound, made by one or both lungs and heard with a stethoscope, caused by the popping open of airways collapsed by fluid or exudate, or sometimes by pulmonary edema.

Example Sentences

"Michael Colot, aged fifteen days, of a strong constitution, not having been sick from the time of birth, was, on the 22nd of November, taken with a violent cough, accompanied with a rale which could be heard without recourse to auscultation."
"If you were to tell a patient that he had a ‘rhonchus’ in his chest, he would imagine that it was something formidable, while, if you said that he had a ‘râle’ he would not be alarmed."
"But after all the educated classes have a right to expect that their medical man will know the difference between a mitral murmur and a bronchitic rale."

Etymology

From French râle (“groan”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɹɑl/
British English: /ɹɑːl/

Inflected Forms

rales (plural) râle (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

bilateral basal basilar bibasilar

Synonyms

crackles rattle rattling

Rhymes With

real al carl rationale senegal dal choral halal cabal locale banal baal

Questions

How do you pronounce rale?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɹɑl/.
What does rale mean?: An abnormal clicking, rattling or crackling sound, made by one or both lungs and heard with a stethoscope, caused by the popping open of airways collapsed by fluid or exudate, or sometimes by pulmonary edema.
Where does rale come from?: From French râle (“groan”).

How to pronounce rale

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