How to pronounce “development”
Say “development” in 4 beats
development
/dɪˈvɛləpmənt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪvɛləpmənt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- devdɪ
- elvɛstress
- opləp
- mentmənt
- IPA (American)
- /dɪˈvɛləpmənt/
- IPA (British)
- /dɪvɛləpmənt/
- Respelling
- di-VE-luhp-muhnt
- Syllables
- 4 — dev-EL-op-ment
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: dev-EL-op-ment. “el” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/dɪˈvɛləpmənt/
/dɪvɛləpmənt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “development” means
- noun
act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining
“he congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency”
- noun
a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)
“the development of his ideas took many years”
- noun
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
“he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children”
Say it in a sentence
“The new housing development is just outside the town.”“development”, answered
How do you pronounce “development”?
“development” is pronounced /dɪˈvɛləpmənt/ (di-VE-luhp-muhnt) in American English and /dɪvɛləpmənt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “el”. Build it as dev-EL-op-ment, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “development” have?
4: dev · el · op · ment. The beat lands on the second, “el”.
Is “development” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /dɪˈvɛləpmənt/ (di-VE-luhp-muhnt); British English says /dɪvɛləpmənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “development” mean?
As a noun: act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining For example: “he congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “development”?
Stress the second syllable: dev-EL-op-ment. “el” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “development” 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.