Pronunciation

How to pronounce “career

“career” is pronounced /kɚˈɪɹ/ (kuh-IR) in American English and /kəɹiə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “eer”.
The sound

Say “career” in 2 beats

Say it like this

career

/kɚˈɪɹ/

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

2 beats
  1. car
  2. eerɪɹstress
IPA (American)
/kɚˈɪɹ/
IPA (British)
/kəɹiə/
Respelling
kuh-IR
Syllables
2 — car-EER
Stress
Stress the second syllable: car-EER. “eer” 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

/kɚˈɪɹ/

British

/kəɹiə/

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

Meaning

What “career” means

  1. noun

    the particular occupation for which you are trained

  2. noun

    the general progression of your working or professional life

    the general had had a distinguished career

  3. verb

    move headlong at high speed

    The cars careered down the road

Say it in a sentence

He changed career at forty and has never regretted it.
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

career”, answered

How do you pronounce “career”?

“career” is pronounced /kɚˈɪɹ/ (kuh-IR) in American English and /kəɹiə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “eer”. Build it as car-EER, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “career” have?

2: car · eer. The beat lands on the second, “eer”.

Is “career” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kɚˈɪɹ/ (kuh-IR); British English says /kəɹiə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “career” mean?

As a noun: the particular occupation for which you are trained For example: “He changed career at forty and has never regretted it.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “career”?

Stress the second syllable: car-EER. “eer” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “career” 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.