Alliteration
noun /əˌlɪt.əˈreɪ.ʃən/ — Repetition of the same initial consonant sound
Definition
The occurrence of the same sound or letter at the beginning of closely connected words — a sound device that creates rhythm, cohesion, and memorability.
Beyond the definition
The music of consonants. Alliteration makes language land. It's the reason advertising slogans stick, and why poems remain.
Origin & history
From Latin 'alliteratio' — 'ad' (to) + 'littera' (letter). The formal description of a poetic technique as old as language itself.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers — nonsense, but unforgettable alliteration.
She used alliteration to give the title weight: 'Brave, Brief, Brilliant'.
The Anglo-Saxon poets built entire poems on alliterative metre. It was how verse worked before rhyme arrived.
Synonyms
consonance, sound repetition, initial rhyme
Related words
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Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Shoot growing through marble crack
A small, vibrant green shoot grows through a jagged crack in a heavy marble floor near a compass.
The rhythmic repetition of the plant pushing through the pattern of the crack is analogous to the cohesive effect of alliteration. Just as repeating sounds bind words together, the repeated visual lines reinforce the plant's journey, creating a memorable, connected image.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration