How to pronounce “digest”

Two pronunciations

“digest” is said two ways

As a verb

/daɪˈdʒɛst/

dy-JEST

To break food down, or to take information in. Beat on JEST.

As a noun

/ˈdaɪdʒɛst/

DY-jest

A summary or condensed collection. Beat on DY.

Listen for the beat, not the letters

One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “Give me a weekly digest I can digest over coffee.”

Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “digest” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the verb and the noun. Read the transcription as you listen.

The sound

Say “digest” in 2 beats

Say it like this — as a verb

digest

/daɪˈdʒɛst/

Everything in this card describes the verb form. As a noun it is /ˈdaɪdʒɛst/.

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats

digdaɪ
estdʒɛststress

IPA (American): /daɪˈdʒɛst/
IPA (British): /daɪˈdʒɛst/
Respelling: dy-JEST (verb) · DY-jest (noun)
Syllables: 2 — dig-EST
Stress: Stress the second syllable: dig-EST. “est” 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

Watch out

Where “digest” goes wrong

Often heard
“DY-jest a heavy meal”
the act is dy-JEST; DY-jest is the summary

Meaning

What “digest” means

noun
a periodical that summarizes the news
noun
something that is compiled (as into a single book or file)
verb
convert food into absorbable substances
“I cannot digest milk products”

Say it in a sentence

“Give me a weekly digest I can digest over coffee.”

Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

dd aɪlong i dʒj ɛshort e ss tt

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

Questions

“digest”, answered

How do you pronounce “digest”?

“digest” has two pronunciations: /daɪˈdʒɛst/ as a verb and /ˈdaɪdʒɛst/ as a noun — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the verb form. Build it as dig-EST, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “digest” have?

2: dig · est. The beat lands on the second, “est”.

Which pronunciation of “digest” is correct?

Both are. /daɪˈdʒɛst/ (dy-JEST) as a verb; /ˈdaɪdʒɛst/ (DY-jest) as a noun. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “Give me a weekly digest I can digest over coffee.”

What does “digest” mean?

As a noun: a periodical that summarizes the news For example: “Give me a weekly digest I can digest over coffee.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “digest”?

Stress the second syllable: dig-EST. “est” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.