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In English, as in other languages, nouns and verbs that describe noises often sound similar to the noise they refer to. So, for example, the word drip (= water falling drop by drop) actually sounds like a tap dripping ("drip - drip - drip"). Bees buzz around flowers, and that's also the sound they make ("bzzz"). And on your computer, you click on an icon to select it, and that's the sound made by your mouse or your keyboard as you do it. We call words like these onomatopoeic words, and we're going to look at some more examples here.

Onomatopoeic words often contain different groups of sounds, depending on the area of meaning. Many words that describe movement through air have the sounds [ʃ] or [z], which sound like rushing air, for example rush, zoom (the sound of a low-flying plane) or whizz (the sound of something moving fast):

• She whizzed past me on her new e-bike.

Words for water (or any other liquid) flying through the air often contain the sounds [s] or [ʃ], for example spray or splash:

• He sprayed his name on the wall in red paint.
• The children were having a great time splashing each other in the pool.

Words that describe sounds made by people and animals often have [g] or [k] in them, which is the sound you make in your throat. For example growl (like a bear or a dog), cough or gasp (the sound you make if you're shocked or in pain):

• He gasped in horror when he saw the gas bill.

Even very common words are often onomatopoeic. Some of these are so familiar, we don't really notice it: whisper sounds like someone talking very quietly; sneeze is like the noise you make when you do so; the adjective fizzy sounds like bubbles in a fizzy drink; and the word bubble itself sounds a bit like a bubble bursting!