How to pronounce “approximate”
Say “approximate” in 4 beats
approximate
/əˈpɹɑksəmət/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐpɹɒksɪmət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- əə
- pɹɑkpɹɑkstress
- səsə
- mətmət
- IPA (American)
- /əˈpɹɑksəmət/
- IPA (British)
- /ɐpɹɒksɪmət/
- Also accepted
- /əˈpɹɑksəˌmeɪt/
- Respelling
- uh-PRAHK-suh-muht
- Syllables
- 4 — ə-PɹⱭK-sə-mət
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ə-PɹⱭK-sə-mət. “pɹɑk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/əˈpɹɑksəmət/
/ɐpɹɒksɪmət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “approximate” means
- verb
be close or similar
“Her results approximate my own”
- verb
judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)
“I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds”
- adjective
not quite exact or correct
“the approximate time was 10 o'clock”
Say it in a sentence
“The approximate cost is nine hundred pounds, give or take.”“approximate”, answered
How do you pronounce “approximate”?
“approximate” is pronounced /əˈpɹɑksəmət/ (uh-PRAHK-suh-muht) in American English and /ɐpɹɒksɪmət/ in British English, and /əˈpɹɑksəˌmeɪt/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɹɑk”. Build it as ə-PɹⱭK-sə-mət, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “approximate” have?
4: ə · pɹɑk · sə · mət. The beat lands on the second, “pɹɑk”.
Is “approximate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈpɹɑksəmət/ (uh-PRAHK-suh-muht); British English says /ɐpɹɒksɪmət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “approximate” mean?
As a verb: be close or similar For example: “Her results approximate my own” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “approximate”?
Stress the second syllable: ə-PɹⱭK-sə-mət. “pɹɑk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “approximate” 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.