What is an Onomatopoeia?

Hello Dolores,

Onomatopoeia is a literary effect where a word sounds like a sound you are trying to describe.

For example:

Bang

Pop

Buzz

Splash

I hope that helps :)

When words sound like the noise being described such as:

Crash

Boom

Splash

Bzzz

Poof

It is when a word sounds like the noise being described e.g. Whoosh, bang, crash...

A word that is spelt how it sounds. Phonetically.

A word that when pronounced resembles the sound of its actual meaning. E.G. ‘bang!’

Hi dolares! To answer your question simply, Onomatopoeia is when a word is spelt how it sounds; an example would be "cuckoo" or "sizzles". If you'd like a more detailed answer, its when the word format phonetically resembles how it sounds, hope this helps :)

Hi Dolores, onomatopoeia are words that produce sounds. For example, 'boom', 'bang', 'crash'. Onomatopoeia is excellent for creating sound imagery so that your reader can easily imagine the sounds in a description or narrative.

Onomatopoeia is when words are used to mimic sounds. For example, the word "moo" is onomatopoeia for the sound a cow makes.

An onomatoepoeia is a word or phrase indicating a sound of some description has been made, e.g. CRASH, BANG, BOOM

Onomatopoeia is when a word makes the sound it describes, for example:

bang, crash, splash, bark, woof.

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech, or words and phrases, that sound like their meaning. An example is “buzz.” When we picture a bee in our minds, the sound that the bee makes sounds similar to the word for it: “buzz.” Other examples of onomatopoeia include “ding dong” or “boom!”

It is a literary technique used by writers that imitates the sound made by the object.

For example, "He made a 'CLAP' noise with his hands to gain the attention of the class".

Here, the onomatopoeia is the 'CLAP', as the word sounds like the sound that was made.

Onomatopoeia might look and sound like a Harry Potter spell, however it is not as complicated as it sounds. Put simply, onomatopoeia means a word that replicates a sound. Examples are the easiest way to understand this concept. For example, 'bang' is a word but when saying it also replicates a noise. The same can be said for 'snap', 'roar' or 'meow'. It doesn't even have to be a dictionary defined word, 'zzzz' to describe sleeping comes to mind.

An onomatopoeia is the formation of a word that is used to represent a sound. Onomatopoeia can also be used to represent sounds that animals and people make for example “moo” “splat” “meow” “pop”.

Onomatopoeia is used as a literary effect. It is basically the sound associated with a word. A simple example for this is 'buzz'. However, there are many examples that can be used to enhance writing. 'The ringmaster swung his whip'.

Bitesize have some excellent resources to support with teaching this skill.