Definition & Meaning of "allomorph"

What is an "allomorph"?

An allomorph is a variant form of a morpheme, which is the smallest meaningful unit of language. Allomorphs occur when the same morpheme takes different forms based on phonetic or grammatical context. For example, the plural morpheme in English can be realized as /s/ in "cats," /z/ in "dogs," or /ɪz/ in "buses," depending on the final sound of the noun. Allomorphs are significant in linguistics because they illustrate how morphemes can adapt to fit different phonological environments, providing insight into the structure and rules of word formation within a language.