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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “decide”

“decide” is pronounced /ˌdɪˈsaɪd/ (di-SYD) in American English and /dɪsaɪd/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “saɪd”.
The sound

Say “decide” in 2 beats

Say it like this

decide

/ˌdɪˈsaɪd/

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

2 beats
  1. dɪdɪ
  2. saɪdsaɪdstress
IPA (American)
/ˌdɪˈsaɪd/
IPA (British)
/dɪsaɪd/
Respelling
di-SYD
Syllables
2 — dɪ-SAꞮD
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dɪ-SAꞮD. “saɪd” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌdɪˈsaɪd/

British

/dɪsaɪd/

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

Meaning

What “decide” means

  1. verb

    reach, make, or come to a decision about something

    “We finally decided after lengthy deliberations”

  2. verb

    bring to an end; settle conclusively

    “The case was decided”

  3. verb

    cause to decide

    “This new development finally decided me!”

Say it in a sentence

“They still need to decide where to spend the holidays.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 sounds, in the order you say them
dd×2ɪshort issaɪlong i

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

Questions

“decide”, answered

How do you pronounce “decide”?

“decide” is pronounced /ˌdɪˈsaɪd/ (di-SYD) in American English and /dɪsaɪd/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “saɪd”. Build it as dɪ-SAꞮD, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “decide” have?

2: dɪ · saɪd. The beat lands on the second, “saɪd”.

Is “decide” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌdɪˈsaɪd/ (di-SYD); British English says /dɪsaɪd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “decide” mean?

As a verb: reach, make, or come to a decision about something For example: “We finally decided after lengthy deliberations” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “decide”?

Stress the second syllable: dɪ-SAꞮD. “saɪd” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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