Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

turtleneck

/tˈɝtəlnˌɛk/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.62 in modern English

Syllables: turtle-neck
IPA: /tˈɝtəlnˌɛk/

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A high, close-fitting collar, turned back on itself and covering all or most of the neck, on a sweater or similar garment.

Canadian usage; American usage

noun

Ellipsis of turtleneck sweater.

Canadian usage; American usage

noun

Slang

Example Sentences

"I've got billions and billions of rhymes to flex / 'Cause I've got more rhymes than Carl Sagan's got turtlenecks"
"Still, Jobs became friends with fashion designer Issey Miyake, who had designed some Sony uniforms, and asked him to make some black turtlenecks that he liked."

Etymology

From turtle + neck.

Usage

Inflected Forms

turtlenecks (plural) turtle neck (alternative) turtle-neck (alternative)

Derived Forms

tactleneck turtlenecked

Phrases

mock turtleneck turtleneck collar turtle-necked turtle-neck sweater turtleneck sweater

Frequently Paired Words

crew neck V-neck boat neckline bateau neckline heart neckline plunging neckline scoop neckline sweetheart neckline

Synonyms

polo-neck turtleneck collar polo neck sweater turtle

Questions

How do you pronounce turtleneck?: The recorded pronunciation is /tˈɝtəlnˌɛk/.
What does turtleneck mean?: A high, close-fitting collar, turned back on itself and covering all or most of the neck, on a sweater or similar garment.
Where does turtleneck come from?: From turtle + neck.

How to pronounce turtleneck

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