Pronunciation

How to pronounce “clothe

“clothe” is pronounced /kloʊð/ (KLOHDH) in American English and /kləʊð/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “clothe” in one beat

Say it like this

clothe

/kloʊð/

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

1 beat
  1. clothekloʊð
IPA (American)
/kloʊð/
IPA (British)
/kləʊð/
Respelling
KLOHDH
Syllables
1 — clothe
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kloʊð/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kloʊð/

British

/kləʊð/

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

Watch out

Where “clothe” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    KLOHTH

    the th is voiced here, unlike in cloth

Meaning

What “clothe” means

  1. verb

    provide with clothes or put clothes on

    Parents must feed and dress their child

  2. verb

    furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors

  3. verb

    cover as if with clothing

    the mountain was clothed in tropical trees

Say it in a sentence

They clothe and feed about forty children every winter.
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

clothe”, answered

How do you pronounce “clothe”?

“clothe” is pronounced /kloʊð/ (KLOHDH) in American English and /kləʊð/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /kloʊð/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “clothe” have?

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

Is “clothe” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kloʊð/ (KLOHDH); British English says /kləʊð/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “clothe” mean?

As a verb: provide with clothes or put clothes on For example: “Parents must feed and dress their child” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “clothe”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “clothe” 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.