Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

telco

/ˈtɛlˌkəʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.59 in modern English

Syllables: tel-co
IPA: /ˈtɛlˌkəʊ/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A telephone company (historically); a telecommunications company, a telecom.

Informal

Etymology

Diachronically, from tel + Co., from the collocation of Tel. Co. as seen, for example, in Bell Tel. Co. or the names of countless local telephone exchange companies (e.g., Savannah Valley Tel. Co., Mutual Tel. Co., Tarrytown Tel. Co.), by abbreviation in the late 19th through mid-20th centuries; synchronically also a clipped compound as tel(ephone) + co(mpany).

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈtɛlˌkəʊ/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

telcos (plural)

Synonyms

telephone company telephone service phone company phone service

Rhymes With

elko delco

Questions

How do you pronounce telco?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɛlˌkəʊ/.
What does telco mean?: A telephone company (historically); a telecommunications company, a telecom.
Where does telco come from?: Diachronically, from tel + Co., from the collocation of Tel. Co. as seen, for example, in Bell Tel. Co. or the names of countless local telephone exchange companies (e.g., Savannah Valley Tel. Co., Mutual Tel. Co., Tarrytown Tel. Co.), by abbreviation in the late 19th through mid-20th centuries; synchronically also a clipped compound as tel(ephone) + co(mpany).

How to pronounce telco

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