How to pronounce “catalyst”
Say “catalyst” in 3 beats
catalyst
/ˈkætələst/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /katɐlɪst/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- catkæstress
- altə
- ystləst
- IPA (American)
- /ˈkætələst/
- IPA (British)
- /katɐlɪst/
- Also accepted
- /ˈkætəlɪst/
- Respelling
- KA-tuh-luhst
- Syllables
- 3 — CAT-al-yst
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: CAT-al-yst. “cat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈkætələst/
/katɐlɪst/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “catalyst” means
- noun
(chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected
- noun
something that causes an important event to happen
“the invasion acted as a catalyst to unite the country”
Say it in a sentence
“A single meeting became the catalyst for the whole project.”“catalyst”, answered
How do you pronounce “catalyst”?
“catalyst” is pronounced /ˈkætələst/ (KA-tuh-luhst) in American English and /katɐlɪst/ in British English, and /ˈkætəlɪst/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “cat”. Build it as CAT-al-yst, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “catalyst” have?
3: cat · al · yst. The beat lands on the first, “cat”.
Is “catalyst” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈkætələst/ (KA-tuh-luhst); British English says /katɐlɪst/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “catalyst” mean?
As a noun: (chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected For example: “A single meeting became the catalyst for the whole project.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “catalyst”?
Stress the first syllable: CAT-al-yst. “cat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “catalyst” 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.