a speech defect that involves pronouncing `s' like voiceless `th' and `z' like voiced `th'
"The baby's lisp caused her to pronounce the word 'sun' as though she were saying 'thun'."
a flexible procedure-oriented programing language that manipulates symbols in the form of lists
"Lisp is a powerful programming language used to manipulate complex data structures stored as nested lists."
The habit or an act of lisping.
"She had to practice daily to break her childhood lisp before auditioning for the play."
In plain English: A lisp is when someone has trouble pronouncing certain sounds, making them sound like they are saying "th" instead of "s".
"He has a slight lisp when he says his s's and z's."
Usage: A lisp refers specifically to a speech impairment where 's' and 'z' are pronounced with tongue placement similar to 'th'. Use this noun when describing the physical mannerism itself rather than the general difficulty in speaking clearly, which would be better described as an articulation disorder.
speak with a lisp
"The child struggled to pronounce the 's' sounds while trying to read her favorite book aloud with a slight lisp."
To pronounce the consonant ‘s’ imperfectly; to give ‘s’ and ‘z’ the sounds of ‘th’ (/θ/, /ð/). This is a speech impediment common among children.
"The young child began to lisp, turning the word "snake" into something that sounded like "thanke.""
In plain English: To lisp is to speak with your tongue sticking out between your teeth, making certain sounds come out wrong.
"She lispers slightly when she says her s and z sounds."
A functional programming language with a distinctive parenthesized syntax, much used in artificial intelligence.
"The programmer noted that lisp is an alternative spelling of Lisp, the iconic programming language."
Alternative spelling of Lisp
The word "lisp" comes from Old English words meaning stammering or speaking with a tongue between the teeth. It ultimately traces back to an ancient root related to turning, though speakers have long associated its sound with the specific way speech is produced when lisping.