Pronunciation

How to pronounce “battle

“battle” is pronounced /ˈbætəl/ (BA-tuhl) in American English and /batəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “batt”.
The sound

Say “battle” in 2 beats

Say it like this

battle

/ˈbætəl/

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

2 beats
  1. battstress
  2. letəl
IPA (American)
/ˈbætəl/
IPA (British)
/batəl/
Respelling
BA-tuhl
Syllables
2 — BATT-le
Stress
Stress the first syllable: BATT-le. “batt” 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

/ˈbætəl/

British

/batəl/

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

Meaning

What “battle” means

  1. noun

    a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

    Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga

  2. noun

    an energetic attempt to achieve something

    getting through the crowd was a real struggle

  3. noun

    an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); --Thomas Paine

    the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph

Say it in a sentence

The two brothers had a friendly battle over the last slice.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

battle”, answered

How do you pronounce “battle”?

“battle” is pronounced /ˈbætəl/ (BA-tuhl) in American English and /batəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “batt”. Build it as BATT-le, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “battle” have?

2: batt · le. The beat lands on the first, “batt”.

Is “battle” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈbætəl/ (BA-tuhl); British English says /batəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “battle” mean?

As a noun: a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war For example: “Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “battle”?

Stress the first syllable: BATT-le. “batt” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “battle” 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.