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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “distributed”

“distributed” is pronounced /dɪˈstɹɪbjətəd/ (di-STRI-byuh-tuhd) in American English and /dɪstɹɪbjuːtɪd/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rib”.
The sound

Say “distributed” in 4 beats

Say it like this

distributed

/dɪˈstɹɪbjətəd/

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

4 beats
  1. distdɪ
  2. ribstɹɪstress
  3. utbjə
  4. edtəd
IPA (American)
/dɪˈstɹɪbjətəd/
IPA (British)
/dɪstɹɪbjuːtɪd/
Respelling
di-STRI-byuh-tuhd
Syllables
4 — dist-RIB-ut-ed
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dist-RIB-ut-ed. “rib” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈstɹɪbjətəd/

British

/dɪstɹɪbjuːtɪd/

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

Meaning

What “distributed” 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

“Copies were distributed to all fifteen branches.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
dd×2ɪshort i×2sstt×2ɹrbbjyəschwa×2

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

Questions

“distributed”, answered

How do you pronounce “distributed”?

“distributed” is pronounced /dɪˈstɹɪbjətəd/ (di-STRI-byuh-tuhd) in American English and /dɪstɹɪbjuːtɪd/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rib”. Build it as dist-RIB-ut-ed, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “distributed” have?

4: dist · rib · ut · ed. The beat lands on the second, “rib”.

Is “distributed” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈstɹɪbjətəd/ (di-STRI-byuh-tuhd); British English says /dɪstɹɪbjuːtɪd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “distributed” 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 “distributed”?

Stress the second syllable: dist-RIB-ut-ed. “rib” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “distributed” and see every sound

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