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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “culminate”

“culminate” is pronounced /ˈkʌlmɪˌneɪt/ (KUL-mi-nayt) in American English and /kʌlmɪneɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “kʌl”.
The sound

Say “culminate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

culminate

/ˈkʌlmɪˌneɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. kʌlkʌlstress
  2. mɪmɪ
  3. neɪtneɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈkʌlmɪˌneɪt/
IPA (British)
/kʌlmɪneɪt/
Respelling
KUL-mi-nayt
Syllables
3 — KɅL-mɪ-neɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: KɅL-mɪ-neɪt. “kʌl” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkʌlmɪˌneɪt/

British

/kʌlmɪneɪt/

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

Meaning

What “culminate” means

  1. verb

    end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage

    “The meeting culminated in a tearful embrace”

  2. verb

    bring to a head or to the highest point

    “Seurat culminated pointillism”

  3. verb

    reach the highest or most decisive point

Say it in a sentence

“The week will culminate in a concert on the village green.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
kkʌshort ullmmɪshort inneɪlong att

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“culminate”, answered

How do you pronounce “culminate”?

“culminate” is pronounced /ˈkʌlmɪˌneɪt/ (KUL-mi-nayt) in American English and /kʌlmɪneɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “kʌl”. Build it as KɅL-mɪ-neɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “culminate” have?

3: kʌl · mɪ · neɪt. The beat lands on the first, “kʌl”.

Is “culminate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkʌlmɪˌneɪt/ (KUL-mi-nayt); British English says /kʌlmɪneɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “culminate” mean?

As a verb: end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage For example: “The meeting culminated in a tearful embrace” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “culminate”?

Stress the first syllable: KɅL-mɪ-neɪt. “kʌl” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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