Pronunciation

How to pronounce “construction

“construction” is pronounced /kənˈstɹʌkʃən/ (kuhn-STRUK-shuhn) in American English and /kənstɹʌkʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “truc”.
The sound

Say “construction” in 3 beats

Say it like this

construction

/kənˈstɹʌkʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. conskən
  2. trucstɹʌkstress
  3. tionʃən
IPA (American)
/kənˈstɹʌkʃən/
IPA (British)
/kənstɹʌkʃən/
Respelling
kuhn-STRUK-shuhn
Syllables
3 — cons-TRUC-tion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: cons-TRUC-tion. “truc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kənˈstɹʌkʃən/

British

/kənstɹʌkʃən/

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

Meaning

What “construction” means

  1. noun

    the act of constructing something

    during the construction we had to take a detour

  2. noun

    a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit

    I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner

  3. noun

    the creation of a construct; the process of combining ideas into a congruous object of thought

Say it in a sentence

Construction on the new bridge began earlier this spring.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

construction”, answered

How do you pronounce “construction”?

“construction” is pronounced /kənˈstɹʌkʃən/ (kuhn-STRUK-shuhn) in American English and /kənstɹʌkʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “truc”. Build it as cons-TRUC-tion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “construction” have?

3: cons · truc · tion. The beat lands on the second, “truc”.

Is “construction” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kənˈstɹʌkʃən/ (kuhn-STRUK-shuhn); British English says /kənstɹʌkʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “construction” mean?

As a noun: the act of constructing something For example: “during the construction we had to take a detour” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “construction”?

Stress the second syllable: cons-TRUC-tion. “truc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “construction” 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.