Pronunciation

How to pronounce “decided

“decided” is pronounced /ˌdɪˈsaɪdɪd/ (di-SY-did) in American English and /dɪsaɪdɪd/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “id”.
The sound

Say “decided” in 3 beats

Say it like this

decided

/ˌdɪˈsaɪdɪd/

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

3 beats
  1. dec
  2. idsaɪstress
  3. eddɪd
IPA (American)
/ˌdɪˈsaɪdɪd/
IPA (British)
/dɪsaɪdɪd/
Respelling
di-SY-did
Syllables
3 — dec-ID-ed
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dec-ID-ed. “id” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌdɪˈsaɪdɪd/

British

/dɪsaɪdɪd/

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

Meaning

What “decided” 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 decided to postpone the wedding until next spring.
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

decided”, answered

How do you pronounce “decided”?

“decided” is pronounced /ˌdɪˈsaɪdɪd/ (di-SY-did) in American English and /dɪsaɪdɪd/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “id”. Build it as dec-ID-ed, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “decided” have?

3: dec · id · ed. The beat lands on the second, “id”.

Is “decided” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌdɪˈsaɪdɪd/ (di-SY-did); British English says /dɪsaɪdɪd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “decided” 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 “decided”?

Stress the second syllable: dec-ID-ed. “id” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “decided” 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.