How to pronounce “compress”
“compress” is said two ways
/kəmˈpɹɛs/
kuhm-PRESS
To squeeze or shrink. Beat on PRESS.
/ˈkɑmpɹɛs/
KAHM-press
The pad you hold against a wound. Beat on KAHM.
Listen for the beat, not the letters
One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “Compress the image, then hold a cold compress to the bruise.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “compress” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the verb and the noun. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “compress” in 2 beats
compress
/kəmˈpɹɛs/
Everything in this card describes the verb form. As a noun it is /ˈkɑmpɹɛs/.
The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- compkəm
- resspɹɛsstress
- IPA (American)
- /kəmˈpɹɛs/
- IPA (British)
- /kəmˈpɹɛs/
- Respelling
- kuhm-PRESS (verb) · KAHM-press (noun)
- Syllables
- 2 — comp-RESS
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: comp-RESS. “ress” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Where “compress” goes wrong
- Often heard
“KAHM-press the file”
squeezing is kuhm-PRESS; KAHM-press is the cold pad
What “compress” means
- noun
a cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever)
- verb
make more compact by or as if by pressing
“compress the data”
- verb
squeeze or press together
“she compressed her lips”
Say it in a sentence
“Compress the image, then hold a cold compress to the bruise.”“compress”, answered
How do you pronounce “compress”?
“compress” has two pronunciations: /kəmˈpɹɛs/ as a verb and /ˈkɑmpɹɛs/ as a noun — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the verb form. Build it as comp-RESS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “compress” have?
2: comp · ress. The beat lands on the second, “ress”.
Which pronunciation of “compress” is correct?
Both are. /kəmˈpɹɛs/ (kuhm-PRESS) as a verb; /ˈkɑmpɹɛs/ (KAHM-press) as a noun. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “Compress the image, then hold a cold compress to the bruise.”
What does “compress” mean?
As a noun: a cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever) For example: “Compress the image, then hold a cold compress to the bruise.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “compress”?
Stress the second syllable: comp-RESS. “ress” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “compress” 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.