Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

turn on the waterworks

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables
turn on the wa-ter-works
IPA
32
Scrabble Score
19
Letters
3
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To start crying, especially in an insincere or annoying way.

Informal

Usage

Inflected Forms

turns on the waterworks (present, singular) turning on the waterworks (participle, present) turned on the waterworks (participle, past) turned on the waterworks (past)

Phrases

crocodile tear

Frequently Paired Words

crocodile tear

Questions

What does turn on the waterworks mean?
To start crying, especially in an insincere or annoying way.

How to pronounce turn on the waterworks

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “turn on the waterworks”.
  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 “turn on the waterworks”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “turn on the waterworks” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.