Sync

How to spell sync

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce sync

What does sync mean?

1. verbTo make two or more things operate in step, or to copy data so devices match.
2. nounThe state of being synchronized or matched in timing.

Sync in a sentence

• verb

  The app lets you sync your contacts across every device.

• noun

  The backing track was out of sync with the live drums.

• verb

  Editors must sync the dialogue to the actor's lip movements.

• noun

  A quick reboot brought the two calendars back into sync.

Where does sync come from?

Language of origin: Greek

Sync is a twentieth-century shortening of synchronize and synchronization, words built from the Greek elements syn, meaning 'together', and chronos, meaning 'time'; the literal sense is therefore 'to share the same time'. The longer forms entered English through scientific and technical writing in the 1800s, describing clocks, machines, and later film and sound that had to run in step with one another. The clipped spelling 'sync' rose with the recording and broadcasting industries, where engineers needed a quick word for keeping picture and audio matched, and a rival spelling 'synch' also circulated for a time. Modern computing cemented 'sync' as the dominant short form once devices began copying data back and forth automatically. The hidden trap in the spelling is the 'y' standing in for the Greek vowel and the silent way the 'nc' is pronounced like 'ngk', which tempts writers toward 'sink'.

How the word is built

• sync (clipping of synchronize/synchronization: syn- 'together'
• chron 'time')

Words that sound like sync

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• sink: To go down below the surface of a liquid, or to cause something to do so.