Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

the ashes

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.93 in modern English

Syllables
the ash-es
IPA
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A trophy played for by England and Australia in Test cricket; in the form of a small urn containing the ashes of a cremated cricket stump or set of bails.

name

A series of Test cricket matches played between England and Australia.

name

A nominal trophy contested by England and Australia in other sports, especially rugby league.

name

A series of such test matches.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From a satirical obituary published in an English newspaper after its loss to Australia in 1882, announcing the death of English cricket and that "the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

Questions

What does the ashes mean?
A trophy played for by England and Australia in Test cricket; in the form of a small urn containing the ashes of a cremated cricket stump or set of bails.
Where does the ashes come from?
From a satirical obituary published in an English newspaper after its loss to Australia in 1882, announcing the death of English cricket and that "the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

How to pronounce the ashes

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