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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “allocate”

“allocate” is pronounced /ˈæləˌkeɪt/ (A-luh-kayt) in American English and /aləkeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “æ”.
The sound

Say “allocate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

allocate

/ˈæləˌkeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. ææstress
  2. lələ
  3. keɪtkeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈæləˌkeɪt/
IPA (British)
/aləkeɪt/
Respelling
A-luh-kayt
Syllables
3 — Æ-lə-keɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Æ-lə-keɪt. “æ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈæləˌkeɪt/

British

/aləkeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “allocate” means

  1. verb

    distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose

    “I am allocating a loaf of bread to everyone on a daily basis”

Say it in a sentence

“We allocate two hours every Friday to clearing the inbox.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
æshort alləschwakkeɪlong att

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

Questions

“allocate”, answered

How do you pronounce “allocate”?

“allocate” is pronounced /ˈæləˌkeɪt/ (A-luh-kayt) in American English and /aləkeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “æ”. Build it as Æ-lə-keɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “allocate” have?

3: æ · lə · keɪt. The beat lands on the first, “æ”.

Is “allocate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈæləˌkeɪt/ (A-luh-kayt); British English says /aləkeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “allocate” mean?

As a verb: distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose For example: “I am allocating a loaf of bread to everyone on a daily basis”

Where is the stress in “allocate”?

Stress the first syllable: Æ-lə-keɪt. “æ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “allocate” and see every sound

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