How to pronounce “desert”
Say “desert” in 2 beats
desert
/ˈdɛzɚt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈdɛzət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- desdɛstress
- ertzɚt
- IPA (American)
- /ˈdɛzɚt/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈdɛzət/
- Also accepted
- /dɪˈzɝt/
- Respelling
- DEZ-urt
- Syllables
- 2 — DES-ert
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: DES-ert. “des” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈdɛzɚt/
/ˈdɛzət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “desert” goes wrong
- Often heard
“dih-ZURT”
the dry place is DEZ-urt; dih-ZURT means to abandon, and dessert is the pudding
What “desert” means
- noun
arid land with little or no vegetation
- verb
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
“The mother deserted her children”
- verb
desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army
“If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot”
Say it in a sentence
“The desert is surprisingly cold once the sun goes down.”“desert”, answered
How do you pronounce “desert”?
“desert” is pronounced /ˈdɛzɚt/ (DEZ-urt) in American English and /ˈdɛzət/ in British English, and /dɪˈzɝt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “des”. Build it as DES-ert, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “desert” have?
2: des · ert. The beat lands on the first, “des”.
Is “desert” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈdɛzɚt/ (DEZ-urt); British English says /ˈdɛzət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “desert” mean?
As a noun: arid land with little or no vegetation For example: “The desert is surprisingly cold once the sun goes down.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “desert”?
Stress the first syllable: DES-ert. “des” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “desert” 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.