Pronunciation

How to pronounce “comb

“comb” is pronounced /koʊm/ (KOHM) in American English and /kəʊm/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “comb” in one beat

Say it like this

comb

/koʊm/

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

1 beat
  1. combkoʊm
IPA (American)
/koʊm/
IPA (British)
/kəʊm/
Respelling
KOHM
Syllables
1 — comb
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /koʊm/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/koʊm/

British

/kəʊm/

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

Watch out

Where “comb” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    KOMB

    the b is silent: it rhymes with home

Meaning

What “comb” means

  1. noun

    a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair

  2. noun

    the fleshy red crest on the head of the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds

  3. noun

    any of several tools for straightening fibers

Say it in a sentence

Run a comb through your hair before the photograph is taken.
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

comb”, answered

How do you pronounce “comb”?

“comb” is pronounced /koʊm/ (KOHM) in American English and /kəʊm/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /koʊm/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “comb” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /koʊm/ — a single beat.

Is “comb” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /koʊm/ (KOHM); British English says /kəʊm/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “comb” mean?

As a noun: a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair For example: “Run a comb through your hair before the photograph is taken.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “comb”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “comb” 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.