How to pronounce “elaborate”
Say “elaborate” in 3 beats
elaborate
/ɪˈlæbɹət/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɪˈlabəɹət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- ɪɪ
- lælæstress
- bɹətbɹət
- IPA (American)
- /ɪˈlæbɹət/
- IPA (British)
- /ɪˈlabəɹət/
- Also accepted
- /ɪˈlæbəɹeɪt/
- Also accepted
- /ɪˈlæbɚˌeɪt/
- Respelling
- ih-LAB-ruht (adjective) / ih-LAB-uh-rayt (verb)
- Syllables
- 3 — ɪ-LÆ-bɹət
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ɪ-LÆ-bɹət. “læ” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ɪˈlæbɹət/
/ɪˈlabəɹət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Also accepted
/ɪˈlæbəɹeɪt/ — The verb ends in -rayt; the adjective ends in a reduced -ruht.Where “elaborate” goes wrong
- Often heard
“ee-lab-OR-ate”
the stress is on LAB in both the noun and the verb
What “elaborate” means
- verb
add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
“She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation”
- verb
produce from basic elements or sources; change into a more developed product
“The bee elaborates honey”
- verb
make more complex, intricate, or richer
“refine a design or pattern”
Say it in a sentence
“The pattern was more elaborate than anything she had attempted.”“elaborate”, answered
How do you pronounce “elaborate”?
“elaborate” is pronounced /ɪˈlæbɹət/ (ih-LAB-ruht (adjective) / ih-LAB-uh-rayt (verb)) in American English and /ɪˈlabəɹət/ in British English, and /ɪˈlæbəɹeɪt/ and /ɪˈlæbɚˌeɪt/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “læ”. Build it as ɪ-LÆ-bɹət, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “elaborate” have?
3: ɪ · læ · bɹət. The beat lands on the second, “læ”. Read letter by letter it looks like 4 (ee-lab-OR-ate), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 3.
Is “elaborate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɪˈlæbɹət/ (ih-LAB-ruht (adjective) / ih-LAB-uh-rayt (verb)); British English says /ɪˈlabəɹət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “elaborate” mean?
As a verb: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing For example: “She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “elaborate”?
Stress the second syllable: ɪ-LÆ-bɹət. “læ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “elaborate” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.