How to pronounce “costs”
Say “costs” in one beat
costs
/kɑsts/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kɒsts/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- costskɑsts
- IPA (American)
- /kɑsts/
- IPA (British)
- /kɒsts/
- Also accepted
- /kɔsts/
- Respelling
- KAHSTS
- Syllables
- 1 — costs
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɑsts/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/kɑsts/
/kɒsts/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “costs” means
- noun
pecuniary reimbursement to the winning party for the expenses of litigation
- noun
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
- noun
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
“the fluctuating monetary value of gold and silver”
Say it in a sentence
“The costs of the renovation were higher than expected.”“costs”, answered
How do you pronounce “costs”?
“costs” is pronounced /kɑsts/ (KAHSTS) in American English and /kɒsts/ in British English, and /kɔsts/ is also accepted — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /kɑsts/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “costs” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /kɑsts/ — a single beat.
Is “costs” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /kɑsts/ (KAHSTS); British English says /kɒsts/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “costs” mean?
As a noun: pecuniary reimbursement to the winning party for the expenses of litigation For example: “The costs of the renovation were higher than expected.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “costs”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɑsts/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “costs” 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.