Pronunciation

How to pronounce “base

“base” is pronounced /beɪs/ (BAYS) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “base” in one beat

Say it like this

base

/beɪs/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. basebeɪs
IPA (American)
/beɪs/
IPA (British)
/beɪs/
Respelling
BAYS
Syllables
1 — base
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /beɪs/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Meaning

What “base” means

  1. noun

    installation from which a military force initiates operations

    the attack wiped out our forward bases

  2. noun

    lowest support of a structure

    it was built on a base of solid rock

  3. noun

    a place that the runner must touch before scoring

    he scrambled to get back to the bag

Say it in a sentence

They set up base camp near the foot of the mountain.
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

base”, answered

How do you pronounce “base”?

“base” is pronounced /beɪs/ (BAYS) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /beɪs/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “base” have?

One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /beɪs/ — a single beat.

What does “base” mean?

As a noun: installation from which a military force initiates operations For example: “the attack wiped out our forward bases” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “base”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /beɪs/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “base” 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.