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# suffix

«suffix» in Mova's school dictionary: **a group of letters added to the end of a word to make a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a suffix, suffixes)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to make a new word or change how it is used, like -ful in «hopeful», -ness in «kindness» or -ed in «jumped». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#m1)

2) In maths and computing, a suffix can be letters or a number added to the end of a name or code. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In English grammar and spelling lessons (and SATs), suffixes are key: -s and -es make plurals, -ed and -ing change verb tense, -er and -est compare, and -ful, -less, -ness, -ment, -ly, -tion make new words. Spelling rules apply: double the consonant (run → running), drop the e (hope → hoping), change y to i (happy → happiness). Phrases: add a suffix, the suffix -ly, root word and suffix.

### examples

- Add the suffix -ful to «help» to make «helpful». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x1)
- «-ly» is a suffix that turns «quick» into «quickly». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x2)
- The suffix -less means «without», as in «homeless». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x3)
- Underline the suffix in «enjoyment». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x4)
- Adding -ing to «swim» doubles the m. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x5)
- The suffix -er can mean «a person who does it», as in «teacher». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x6)
- When you add the suffix -ness to «happy», y changes to i. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x7)
- Some words have two suffixes, like «care-ful-ly». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/#x8)

### note

Countable: a suffix, suffixes (add -es after x). Pronounced «SUF-ix». A suffix goes at the END; a prefix goes at the START (un- in «unhappy»). The word you add it to is the root or base word. A suffix can change the word class: «kind» (adjective) → «kindness» (noun).

### In the corpora

- [A suffix is a few letters added to the end of a word that change its job or meaning.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/0/)
- [Each suffix has its own spelling, and it stays the same.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/2/)
- [Chanting lists can help you remember, as Grandma did, but understanding root plus suffix lets you spell words you have never met.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/14/)
- [The suffix -ful has one l: careful, hopeful, beautiful.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/19/)
- [Splitting a word into root and suffixes helps you spell words you have never seen.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/26/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «suffix» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/suffix/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.