verb
lisp
lihsp
verb
1
To pronounce the sounds 's' and 'z' as 'th', usually as a speech habit rather than deliberately.
"He's had a slight lisp since childhood and says 'thoup' instead of 'soup'."
"She lisped nervously when the teacher called on her."
noun
1
A way of speaking in which 's' and 'z' sounds come out as 'th'.
"Speech therapy helped correct his lisp by the time he was ten."
How to Use Lisp
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSpeaking with a soft 'th' sound where 's' or 'z' should be.
Common mistake
A lisp is a speech pattern, not a stutter (stuttering is repeating or getting stuck on sounds) — the two are often confused.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
lisped past tense, lisps plural, Lisps plural, lisps singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “lisp”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
He's had a slight _____ since childhood and says 'thoup' instead of 'soup'.
Etymology
From Old English wlisp ("stammering"), going back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning much the same thing.