pho‧neme /ˈfəʊniːm $ ˈfoʊ-/ noun [countable] technical
[Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: phonème, from Greek phonema 'speech sound']
the smallest unit of speech that can be used to make one word different from another word, such as the ‘b’ and the ‘p’ in ‘big’ and ‘pig’ ⇒ morpheme
—phonemic /fəˈniːmɪk/ adjective
—phonemically /-kli/ adverb

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲