Pronunciation

How to pronounce “cruise

“cruise” is pronounced /kɹuz/ (KROOZ) in American English and /kɹuːz/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “cruise” in one beat

Say it like this

cruise

/kɹuz/

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

1 beat
  1. cruisekɹuz
IPA (American)
/kɹuz/
IPA (British)
/kɹuːz/
Respelling
KROOZ
Syllables
1 — cruise
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɹuz/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
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

/kɹuz/

British

/kɹuːz/

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

Meaning

What “cruise” means

  1. noun

    an ocean trip taken for pleasure

  2. verb

    drive around aimlessly but ostentatiously and at leisure

    She cruised the neighborhood in her new convertible

  3. verb

    travel at a moderate speed

    Please keep your seat belt fastened while the plane is reaching cruising altitude

Say it in a sentence

They took a short cruise along the western coast.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

cruise”, answered

How do you pronounce “cruise”?

“cruise” is pronounced /kɹuz/ (KROOZ) in American English and /kɹuːz/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /kɹuz/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “cruise” have?

One, despite the 3 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /kɹuz/ — a single beat.

Is “cruise” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kɹuz/ (KROOZ); British English says /kɹuːz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “cruise” mean?

As a noun: an ocean trip taken for pleasure For example: “They took a short cruise along the western coast.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “cruise”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɹuz/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “cruise” 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.