Pronunciation

How to pronounce “broke

“broke” is pronounced /bɹoʊk/ (BROHK) in American English and /bɹəʊk/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “broke” in one beat

Say it like this

broke

/bɹoʊk/

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

1 beat
  1. brokebɹoʊk
IPA (American)
/bɹoʊk/
IPA (British)
/bɹəʊk/
Respelling
BROHK
Syllables
1 — broke
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /bɹoʊk/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/bɹoʊk/

British

/bɹəʊk/

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

Meaning

What “broke” means

  1. verb

    terminate

    She interrupted her pregnancy

  2. verb

    become separated into pieces or fragments

    The figurine broke

  3. verb

    render inoperable or ineffective

    You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!

Say it in a sentence

The old shelf broke under the weight of the books.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

broke”, answered

How do you pronounce “broke”?

“broke” is pronounced /bɹoʊk/ (BROHK) in American English and /bɹəʊk/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /bɹoʊk/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “broke” have?

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

Is “broke” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /bɹoʊk/ (BROHK); British English says /bɹəʊk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “broke” mean?

As a verb: terminate For example: “She interrupted her pregnancy” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “broke”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “broke” 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.