Pronunciation

How to pronounce “arbitration

“arbitration” is pronounced /ˌɑɹbɪˈtɹeɪʃən/ (ahr-bi-TRAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɑːbɪtɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rat”.
The sound

Say “arbitration” in 4 beats

Say it like this

arbitration

/ˌɑɹbɪˈtɹeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. arɑɹ
  2. bit
  3. rattɹeɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌɑɹbɪˈtɹeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/ɑːbɪtɹeɪʃən/
Respelling
ahr-bi-TRAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — ar-bit-RAT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ar-bit-RAT-ion. “rat” 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

/ˌɑɹbɪˈtɹeɪʃən/

British

/ɑːbɪtɹeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “arbitration” means

  1. noun

    (law) the hearing and determination of a dispute by an impartial referee agreed to by both parties (often used to settle disputes between labor and management)

  2. noun

    the act of deciding as an arbiter; giving authoritative judgment

    they submitted their disagreement to arbitration

Say it in a sentence

Both sides agreed to arbitration rather than a court case.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

arbitration”, answered

How do you pronounce “arbitration”?

“arbitration” is pronounced /ˌɑɹbɪˈtɹeɪʃən/ (ahr-bi-TRAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɑːbɪtɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rat”. Build it as ar-bit-RAT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “arbitration” have?

4: ar · bit · rat · ion. The beat lands on the third, “rat”.

Is “arbitration” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɑɹbɪˈtɹeɪʃən/ (ahr-bi-TRAY-shuhn); British English says /ɑːbɪtɹeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “arbitration” mean?

As a noun: (law) the hearing and determination of a dispute by an impartial referee agreed to by both parties (often used to settle disputes between labor and management) For example: “Both sides agreed to arbitration rather than a court case.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “arbitration”?

Stress the third syllable: ar-bit-RAT-ion. “rat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “arbitration” and see every sound

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