Pronunciation

How to pronounce “delegate

“delegate” is pronounced /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/ (DE-luh-gayt) in American English and /dɛlɪɡeɪt/ in British English, and /ˈdɛləɡət/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”.
The sound

Say “delegate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

delegate

/ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. ɡeɪtɡeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/
IPA (British)
/dɛlɪɡeɪt/
Also accepted
/ˈdɛləɡət/
Respelling
DE-luh-gayt
Syllables
3 — DƐ-lə-ɡeɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DƐ-lə-ɡeɪt. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
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

/ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/

British

/dɛlɪɡeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “delegate” means

  1. noun

    a person appointed or elected to represent others

  2. verb

    transfer power to someone

  3. verb

    give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)

Say it in a sentence

Learning to delegate took him longer than learning the job.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

delegate”, answered

How do you pronounce “delegate”?

“delegate” is pronounced /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/ (DE-luh-gayt) in American English and /dɛlɪɡeɪt/ in British English, and /ˈdɛləɡət/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”. Build it as DƐ-lə-ɡeɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “delegate” have?

3: dɛ · lə · ɡeɪt. The beat lands on the first, “dɛ”.

Is “delegate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/ (DE-luh-gayt); British English says /dɛlɪɡeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “delegate” mean?

As a noun: a person appointed or elected to represent others For example: “Learning to delegate took him longer than learning the job.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “delegate”?

Stress the first syllable: DƐ-lə-ɡeɪt. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “delegate” 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.