Pronunciation

How to pronounce “author

“author” is pronounced /ˈɔθɚ/ (AW-thuh) in American English and /ɔːθə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “aut”.
The sound

Say “author” in 2 beats

Say it like this

author

/ˈɔθɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. autɔstress
  2. horθɚ
IPA (American)
/ˈɔθɚ/
IPA (British)
/ɔːθə/
Respelling
AW-thuh
Syllables
2 — AUT-hor
Stress
Stress the first syllable: AUT-hor. “aut” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɔθɚ/

British

/ɔːθə/

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

Meaning

What “author” means

  1. noun

    writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)

  2. noun

    someone who originates or causes or initiates something

    he was the generator of several complaints

  3. verb

    be the author of

    She authored this play

Say it in a sentence

The author lived in this village for nearly forty years.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

author”, answered

How do you pronounce “author”?

“author” is pronounced /ˈɔθɚ/ (AW-thuh) in American English and /ɔːθə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “aut”. Build it as AUT-hor, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “author” have?

2: aut · hor. The beat lands on the first, “aut”.

Is “author” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɔθɚ/ (AW-thuh); British English says /ɔːθə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “author” mean?

As a noun: writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay) For example: “The author lived in this village for nearly forty years.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “author”?

Stress the first syllable: AUT-hor. “aut” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “author” 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.