How to pronounce “attain”
Say “attain” in 2 beats
attain
/əˈteɪn/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐteɪn/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- atə
- tainteɪnstress
- IPA (American)
- /əˈteɪn/
- IPA (British)
- /ɐteɪn/
- Respelling
- uh-TAYN
- Syllables
- 2 — at-TAIN
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: at-TAIN. “tain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/əˈteɪn/
/ɐteɪn/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “attain” means
- verb
to gain with effort
“she achieved her goal despite setbacks”
- verb
reach a point in time, or a certain state or level
“The thermometer hit 100 degrees”
- verb
find unexpectedly
“the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb”
Say it in a sentence
“Few runners attain that speed without years of steady training.”“attain”, answered
How do you pronounce “attain”?
“attain” is pronounced /əˈteɪn/ (uh-TAYN) in American English and /ɐteɪn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tain”. Build it as at-TAIN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “attain” have?
2: at · tain. The beat lands on the second, “tain”.
Is “attain” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈteɪn/ (uh-TAYN); British English says /ɐteɪn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “attain” mean?
As a verb: to gain with effort For example: “she achieved her goal despite setbacks” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “attain”?
Stress the second syllable: at-TAIN. “tain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “attain” 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.