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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “accessory”

“accessory” is pronounced /ækˈsɛsɚi/ (ak-SE-suh-ee) in American English and /ɐksɛsəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ces”.
The sound

Say “accessory” in 4 beats

Say it like this

accessory

/ækˈsɛsɚi/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐksɛsəɹi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. acæk
  2. cessɛstress
  3. sorsɚ
  4. yi
IPA (American)
/ækˈsɛsɚi/
IPA (British)
/ɐksɛsəɹi/
Respelling
ak-SE-suh-ee
Syllables
4 — ac-CES-sor-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ac-CES-sor-y. “ces” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ækˈsɛsɚi/

British

/ɐksɛsəɹi/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “accessory” means

  1. noun

    clothing that is worn or carried, but not part of your main clothing

  2. noun

    a supplementary component that improves capability

  3. noun

    someone who helps another person commit a crime

Say it in a sentence

“The only accessory she wore was a thin silver chain.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
æshort akkss×2ɛshort eɚschwailong e

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“accessory”, answered

How do you pronounce “accessory”?

“accessory” is pronounced /ækˈsɛsɚi/ (ak-SE-suh-ee) in American English and /ɐksɛsəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ces”. Build it as ac-CES-sor-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “accessory” have?

4: ac · ces · sor · y. The beat lands on the second, “ces”.

Is “accessory” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ækˈsɛsɚi/ (ak-SE-suh-ee); British English says /ɐksɛsəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “accessory” mean?

As a noun: clothing that is worn or carried, but not part of your main clothing For example: “The only accessory she wore was a thin silver chain.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “accessory”?

Stress the second syllable: ac-CES-sor-y. “ces” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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