Pronunciation

How to pronounce “contribute

“contribute” is pronounced /kənˈtɹɪbjut/ (kuhn-TRI-byoot) in American English and /kəntɹɪbjuːt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “tɹɪ”.
The sound

Say “contribute” in 3 beats

Say it like this

contribute

/kənˈtɹɪbjut/

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

3 beats
  1. kənkən
  2. tɹɪtɹɪstress
  3. bjutbjut
IPA (American)
/kənˈtɹɪbjut/
IPA (British)
/kəntɹɪbjuːt/
Respelling
kuhn-TRI-byoot
Syllables
3 — kən-TɹꞮ-bjut
Stress
Stress the second syllable: kən-TɹꞮ-bjut. “tɹɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kənˈtɹɪbjut/

British

/kəntɹɪbjuːt/

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

Meaning

What “contribute” means

  1. verb

    bestow a quality on

    Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company

  2. verb

    contribute to some cause

    I gave at the office

  3. verb

    be conducive to

    The use of computers in the classroom lead to better writing

Say it in a sentence

Everyone was asked to contribute one idea before lunch.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

contribute”, answered

How do you pronounce “contribute”?

“contribute” is pronounced /kənˈtɹɪbjut/ (kuhn-TRI-byoot) in American English and /kəntɹɪbjuːt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “tɹɪ”. Build it as kən-TɹꞮ-bjut, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “contribute” have?

3: kən · tɹɪ · bjut. The beat lands on the second, “tɹɪ”.

Is “contribute” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kənˈtɹɪbjut/ (kuhn-TRI-byoot); British English says /kəntɹɪbjuːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “contribute” mean?

As a verb: bestow a quality on For example: “Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “contribute”?

Stress the second syllable: kən-TɹꞮ-bjut. “tɹɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “contribute” 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.