Pronunciation

How to pronounce “atmosphere

“atmosphere” is pronounced /ˈætməˌsfɪɹ/ (AT-muh-sfir) in American English and /atməsfiə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “æt”.
The sound

Say “atmosphere” in 3 beats

Say it like this

atmosphere

/ˈætməˌsfɪɹ/

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

3 beats
  1. ætætstress
  2. sfɪɹsfɪɹ
IPA (American)
/ˈætməˌsfɪɹ/
IPA (British)
/atməsfiə/
Respelling
AT-muh-sfir
Syllables
3 — ÆT-mə-sfɪɹ
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ÆT-mə-sfɪɹ. “æt” 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

/ˈætməˌsfɪɹ/

British

/atməsfiə/

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

Meaning

What “atmosphere” means

  1. noun

    a particular environment or surrounding influence

    there was an atmosphere of excitement

  2. noun

    a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade

  3. noun

    the mass of air surrounding the Earth

    there was great heat as the comet entered the atmosphere

Say it in a sentence

The atmosphere in the hall was warm and slightly chaotic.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

atmosphere”, answered

How do you pronounce “atmosphere”?

“atmosphere” is pronounced /ˈætməˌsfɪɹ/ (AT-muh-sfir) in American English and /atməsfiə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “æt”. Build it as ÆT-mə-sfɪɹ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “atmosphere” have?

3: æt · mə · sfɪɹ. The beat lands on the first, “æt”.

Is “atmosphere” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈætməˌsfɪɹ/ (AT-muh-sfir); British English says /atməsfiə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “atmosphere” mean?

As a noun: a particular environment or surrounding influence For example: “there was an atmosphere of excitement” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “atmosphere”?

Stress the first syllable: ÆT-mə-sfɪɹ. “æt” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “atmosphere” 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.