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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “distance”

“distance” is pronounced /ˈdɪstəns/ (DI-stuhns) in American English and /dɪstəns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “dɪ”.
The sound

Say “distance” in 2 beats

Say it like this

distance

/ˈdɪstəns/

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

2 beats
  1. dɪdɪstress
  2. stənsstəns
IPA (American)
/ˈdɪstəns/
IPA (British)
/dɪstəns/
Respelling
DI-stuhns
Syllables
2 — DꞮ-stəns
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DꞮ-stəns. “dɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈdɪstəns/

British

/dɪstəns/

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

Meaning

What “distance” means

  1. noun

    the property created by the space between two objects or points

  2. noun

    a distant region

    “I could see it in the distance”

  3. noun

    size of the gap between two places

    “the distance from New York to Chicago”

Say it in a sentence

“They kept a safe distance from the edge of the cliff.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɪshort iss×2ttəschwann

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

Questions

“distance”, answered

How do you pronounce “distance”?

“distance” is pronounced /ˈdɪstəns/ (DI-stuhns) in American English and /dɪstəns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “dɪ”. Build it as DꞮ-stəns, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “distance” have?

2: dɪ · stəns. The beat lands on the first, “dɪ”.

Is “distance” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdɪstəns/ (DI-stuhns); British English says /dɪstəns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “distance” mean?

As a noun: the property created by the space between two objects or points For example: “They kept a safe distance from the edge of the cliff.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “distance”?

Stress the first syllable: DꞮ-stəns. “dɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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