Pronunciation

How to pronounce “cavalry

“cavalry” is pronounced /ˈkævəlɹi/ (KAV-uhl-ree) in American English and /ˈkavəlɹi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cav”.
The sound

Say “cavalry” in 3 beats

Say it like this

cavalry

/ˈkævəlɹi/

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

3 beats
  1. cavstress
  2. alvəl
  3. ryɹi
IPA (American)
/ˈkævəlɹi/
IPA (British)
/ˈkavəlɹi/
Respelling
KAV-uhl-ree
Syllables
3 — CAV-al-ry
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CAV-al-ry. “cav” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkævəlɹi/

British

/ˈkavəlɹi/

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

Watch out

Where “cavalry” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    KAL-vuh-ree

    the v comes before the l: KAV-uhl-ree, not Calvary

Meaning

What “cavalry” means

  1. noun

    troops trained to fight on horseback

    500 horse led the attack

  2. noun

    a highly mobile army unit

Say it in a sentence

The old painting shows cavalry crossing a river at dawn.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

cavalry”, answered

How do you pronounce “cavalry”?

“cavalry” is pronounced /ˈkævəlɹi/ (KAV-uhl-ree) in American English and /ˈkavəlɹi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cav”. Build it as CAV-al-ry, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “cavalry” have?

3: cav · al · ry. The beat lands on the first, “cav”.

Is “cavalry” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkævəlɹi/ (KAV-uhl-ree); British English says /ˈkavəlɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “cavalry” mean?

As a noun: troops trained to fight on horseback For example: “500 horse led the attack” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “cavalry”?

Stress the first syllable: CAV-al-ry. “cav” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “cavalry” and see every sound

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