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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “distribute”

“distribute” is pronounced /dɪˈstɹɪbjut/ (di-STRI-byoot) in American English and /dɪstɹɪbjuːt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “stɹɪ”.
The sound

Say “distribute” in 3 beats

Say it like this

distribute

/dɪˈstɹɪbjut/

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

3 beats
  1. dɪdɪ
  2. stɹɪstɹɪstress
  3. bjutbjut
IPA (American)
/dɪˈstɹɪbjut/
IPA (British)
/dɪstɹɪbjuːt/
Respelling
di-STRI-byoot
Syllables
3 — dɪ-STɹꞮ-bjut
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dɪ-STɹꞮ-bjut. “stɹɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈstɹɪbjut/

British

/dɪstɹɪbjuːt/

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

Meaning

What “distribute” means

  1. verb

    administer or bestow, as in small portions

    “administer critical remarks to everyone present”

  2. verb

    distribute or disperse widely

    “The invaders spread their language all over the country”

  3. verb

    make available

    “The publisher wants to distribute the book in Asia”

Say it in a sentence

“Volunteers distribute the leaflets to every house in the parish.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɪshort i×2sstt×2ɹrbbjyulong oo

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

Questions

“distribute”, answered

How do you pronounce “distribute”?

“distribute” is pronounced /dɪˈstɹɪbjut/ (di-STRI-byoot) in American English and /dɪstɹɪbjuːt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “stɹɪ”. Build it as dɪ-STɹꞮ-bjut, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “distribute” have?

3: dɪ · stɹɪ · bjut. The beat lands on the second, “stɹɪ”.

Is “distribute” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈstɹɪbjut/ (di-STRI-byoot); British English says /dɪstɹɪbjuːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “distribute” mean?

As a verb: administer or bestow, as in small portions For example: “administer critical remarks to everyone present” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “distribute”?

Stress the second syllable: dɪ-STɹꞮ-bjut. “stɹɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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