Word part · Latin suffix
Suffix -ery words: meaning and 17 examples
In short
The Latin suffix -ery (from Latin) means "a place for; a practice; or things of one kind". It is also spelled ry. Words with it include bakery, bravery, fishery, greenery, machinery and scenery. Latin by way of French.
- Part
- -ery
- Meaning
- a place for; a practice; or things of one kind
- Origin
- Latin
- Also spelled
- ry
- Words listed
- 17
Latin by way of French. It names a place (bakery), a craft (pottery) or a group of things (greenery). After some words it is just -ry: poetry, jewelry.
Words with the Latin suffix -ery
The list runs from shorter, common words to longer ones. The bands are a rough guide built from syllable count and how common each word is in our word list, not a grade-level standard. Read each word, then its word sum.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| scenery | scene (root or base)+ery (suffix)→scenerydrop the e | the view of the land around you |
| nursery | nurse (root or base)+ery (suffix)→nurserydrop the e | a room for babies, or a place where young plants grow |
| trickery | trick (root or base)+ery (suffix)→trickery | the use of tricks to fool someone |
| hatchery | hatch (root or base)+ery (suffix)→hatchery | a place where eggs are hatched |
| cannery | can (root or base)+ery (suffix)→cannerydouble the last letter | a place where food is put into cans |
| jewelry | jewel (root or base)+ry (suffix)→jewelry | rings, necklaces and other jewels you wear |
| rivalry | rival (root or base)+ry (suffix)→rivalry | a long contest between rivals |
| poetry | poet (root or base)+ry (suffix)→poetry | poems, or the art of writing them |
| dentistry | dentist (root or base)+ry (suffix)→dentistry | the work of a dentist |
| chemistry | chemist (root or base)+ry (suffix)→chemistry | the science of what things are made of |
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| bakery | bake (root or base)+ery (suffix)→bakerydrop the e | a place where bread and cakes are baked |
| bravery | brave (root or base)+ery (suffix)→braverydrop the e | the quality of being brave |
| fishery | fish (root or base)+ery (suffix)→fishery | a place where fish are caught or raised |
| greenery | green (root or base)+ery (suffix)→greenery | green plants and leaves |
| machinery | machine (root or base)+ery (suffix)→machinerydrop the e | machines as a group |
More words: pottery, archery
How do you teach the suffix -ery?
Three jobs, three anchor words. A bakery is a place where people bake. Pottery is the craft of making pots, and also the pots themselves. Greenery is green plants as a group. Teach one job at a time, then let the student sort new words. The short spelling -ry comes after words like poet, jewel and chemist, and it is worth showing once the main spelling is solid.
A quick routine
Write bake, nurse, fish, green and brave. Say, "Ery can name a place, a practice or a group. Bake plus ery is bakery: a place where bread is baked." The student builds each word, watching for the dropped e in bakery, nursery and bravery. Ask, "Is bravery a place?" It is a quality, so the student adds that to the list of jobs. Finish with poet plus ry.
What do students mix up with -ery?
Every, very and mystery end in e-r-y without the suffix. Delivery, discovery and battery are made with -y on a base that already ends in er, so they split differently: deliver + y. Before counting a word as -ery, check that the part before it is a word like bake, fish or green.
Some of these words change spelling where the parts join. The spelling rules pages cover dropping e, doubling and changing y to i. For the sounds inside these words, see the phonics word lists. Routines that fit: meanings of prefixes and suffixes, circle the parts, read the base and flexible routine for big words.
Questions people ask
What does the suffix -ery mean?
-ery means "a place for; a practice; or things of one kind". It is a Latin suffix, also spelled ry. Latin by way of French. It names a place (bakery), a craft (pottery) or a group of things (greenery). After some words it is just -ry: poetry, jewelry.
What are some words with the suffix -ery?
Start with scenery, nursery, trickery and hatchery. Then move to bakery and bravery. This page lists 17 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
Is it -ery or -ry in jewelry?
Jewelry is jewel + ry. The short spelling shows up after bases such as jewel, poet, rival and chemist. American English spells it jewelry; British books often use jewellery.
Teach word parts with ready lessons
Literacy Trail has word parts lessons with words to read, build, split and spell, and full-screen players for the student. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial.