Definitions

1. adjective

relating to or denoting the distinctive sounds of spoken language, especially those that distinguish one word from another.

“The phonemic transcription of the word ‘cat’ is /kæt/.”

2. noun

a unit of sound in a language that distinguishes one word from another, such as the ‘k’ sound in ‘cat’ and the ‘k’ sound in ‘kit’.

“The phonemic structure of the language is quite complex.”