Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [ten-ter-hoo k]
- /ˈtɛn tərˌhʊk/
- /tˈentəhˌʊk/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [ten-ter-hoo k]
- /ˈtɛn tərˌhʊk/
Definitions of tenterhook word
- noun tenterhook one of the hooks or bent nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter. 1
- idioms tenterhook on tenterhooks, in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety: The movie keeps one on tenterhooks until the very last moment. 1
- noun tenterhook one of a series of hooks or bent nails used to hold cloth stretched on a tenter 0
- noun tenterhook any of the hooked nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter 0
Information block about the term
Origin of tenterhook
First appearance:
before 1470 One of the 25% oldest English words
First recorded in 1470-80; tenter + hook1
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Tenterhook
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
tenterhook popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 46% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 74% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
tenterhook usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerTop questions with tenterhook
- what is a tenterhook?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with t
- Words starting with te
- Words starting with ten
- Words starting with tent
- Words starting with tente
- Words starting with tenter
- Words starting with tenterh
- Words starting with tenterho
- Words starting with tenterhoo
- Words starting with tenterhook