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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “complement”

“complement” is pronounced /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ (KAHM-pluh-muhnt) in American English and /kɒmplɪmənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “comp”.
The sound

Say “complement” in 3 beats

Say it like this

complement

/ˈkɑmpləmənt/

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

3 beats
  1. compkɑmstress
  2. lemplə
  3. entmənt
IPA (American)
/ˈkɑmpləmənt/
IPA (British)
/kɒmplɪmənt/
Respelling
KAHM-pluh-muhnt
Syllables
3 — COMP-lem-ent
Stress
Stress the first syllable: COMP-lem-ent. “comp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
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

/ˈkɑmpləmənt/

British

/kɒmplɪmənt/

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

Meaning

What “complement” means

  1. noun

    a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction

  2. noun

    a complete number or quantity

    “a full complement”

  3. noun

    number needed to make up a whole force

    “a full complement of workers”

Say it in a sentence

“The scarf was the perfect complement to her grey coat.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
kkɑahmm×2pplləschwa×2nntt

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“complement”, answered

How do you pronounce “complement”?

“complement” is pronounced /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ (KAHM-pluh-muhnt) in American English and /kɒmplɪmənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “comp”. Build it as COMP-lem-ent, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “complement” have?

3: comp · lem · ent. The beat lands on the first, “comp”.

Is “complement” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ (KAHM-pluh-muhnt); British English says /kɒmplɪmənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “complement” mean?

As a noun: a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction For example: “The scarf was the perfect complement to her grey coat.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “complement”?

Stress the first syllable: COMP-lem-ent. “comp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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