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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “director”

“director” is pronounced /dɚˈɛktɚ/ (duh-EK-tuh) in American English and /daɪɹɛktə/ in British English, and /daɪˈɹɛktɚ/ and /diˈɹɛktɚ/ and /dɪˈɹɛktɚ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ec”.
The sound

Say “director” in 3 beats

Say it like this

director

/dɚˈɛktɚ/

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

3 beats
  1. dirdɚ
  2. ecɛkstress
  3. tortɚ
IPA (American)
/dɚˈɛktɚ/
IPA (British)
/daɪɹɛktə/
Also accepted
/daɪˈɹɛktɚ/
Also accepted
/diˈɹɛktɚ/
Also accepted
/dɪˈɹɛktɚ/
Respelling
duh-EK-tuh
Syllables
3 — dir-EC-tor
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dir-EC-tor. “ec” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɚˈɛktɚ/

British

/daɪɹɛktə/

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

Meaning

What “director” means

  1. noun

    someone who controls resources and expenditures

  2. noun

    member of a board of directors

  3. noun

    someone who supervises the actors and directs the action in the production of a show

Say it in a sentence

“The director spent months planning the final scene.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɚschwa×2ɛshort ekktt

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

Questions

“director”, answered

How do you pronounce “director”?

“director” is pronounced /dɚˈɛktɚ/ (duh-EK-tuh) in American English and /daɪɹɛktə/ in British English, and /daɪˈɹɛktɚ/ and /diˈɹɛktɚ/ and /dɪˈɹɛktɚ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ec”. Build it as dir-EC-tor, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “director” have?

3: dir · ec · tor. The beat lands on the second, “ec”.

Is “director” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɚˈɛktɚ/ (duh-EK-tuh); British English says /daɪɹɛktə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “director” mean?

As a noun: someone who controls resources and expenditures For example: “The director spent months planning the final scene.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “director”?

Stress the second syllable: dir-EC-tor. “ec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “director” and see every sound

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