Pronunciation

How to pronounce “allocation

“allocation” is pronounced /ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/ (a-luh-KAY-shuhn) in American English and /aləkeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “allocation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

allocation

/ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. alæ
  2. loc
  3. atkeɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/aləkeɪʃən/
Respelling
a-luh-KAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — al-loc-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: al-loc-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/

British

/aləkeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “allocation” means

  1. noun

    a share set aside for a specific purpose

  2. noun

    the act of distributing by allotting or apportioning; distribution according to a plan

    the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives is based on the relative population of each state

  3. noun

    (computer science) the assignment of particular areas of a magnetic disk to particular data or instructions

Say it in a sentence

The allocation of rooms is decided in the first week.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

allocation”, answered

How do you pronounce “allocation”?

“allocation” is pronounced /ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/ (a-luh-KAY-shuhn) in American English and /aləkeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as al-loc-AT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “allocation” have?

4: al · loc · at · ion. The beat lands on the third, “at”.

Is “allocation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/ (a-luh-KAY-shuhn); British English says /aləkeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “allocation” mean?

As a noun: a share set aside for a specific purpose For example: “The allocation of rooms is decided in the first week.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “allocation”?

Stress the third syllable: al-loc-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “allocation” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.