Pronunciation

How to pronounce “code

“code” is pronounced /koʊd/ (KOHD) in American English and /kəʊd/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “code” in one beat

Say it like this

code

/koʊd/

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

1 beat
  1. codekoʊd
IPA (American)
/koʊd/
IPA (British)
/kəʊd/
Respelling
KOHD
Syllables
1 — code
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /koʊd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
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

/koʊd/

British

/kəʊd/

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

Meaning

What “code” means

  1. noun

    a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)

  2. noun

    a coding system used for transmitting messages requiring brevity or secrecy

  3. noun

    (computer science) the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions

Say it in a sentence

The building code was rewritten after the fire at the mill.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

code”, answered

How do you pronounce “code”?

“code” is pronounced /koʊd/ (KOHD) in American English and /kəʊd/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /koʊd/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “code” have?

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

Is “code” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /koʊd/ (KOHD); British English says /kəʊd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “code” mean?

As a noun: a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones) For example: “The building code was rewritten after the fire at the mill.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “code”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “code” 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.