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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “foundation”

“foundation” is pronounced /faʊnˈdeɪʃən/ (fown-DAY-shuhn) in American English and /faʊndeɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dat”.
The sound

Say “foundation” in 3 beats

Say it like this

foundation

/faʊnˈdeɪʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. founfaʊn
  2. datdeɪstress
  3. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/faʊnˈdeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/faʊndeɪʃən/
Respelling
fown-DAY-shuhn
Syllables
3 — foun-DAT-ion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: foun-DAT-ion. “dat” 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

/faʊnˈdeɪʃən/

British

/faʊndeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “foundation” means

  1. noun

    the basis on which something is grounded

    “there is little foundation for his objections”

  2. noun

    an institution supported by an endowment

  3. noun

    lowest support of a structure

    “it was built on a base of solid rock”

Say it in a sentence

“The foundation of the wall had shifted after the flood.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ffaʊownn×2ddeɪlong aʃshəschwa

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

Questions

“foundation”, answered

How do you pronounce “foundation”?

“foundation” is pronounced /faʊnˈdeɪʃən/ (fown-DAY-shuhn) in American English and /faʊndeɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dat”. Build it as foun-DAT-ion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “foundation” have?

3: foun · dat · ion. The beat lands on the second, “dat”.

Is “foundation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /faʊnˈdeɪʃən/ (fown-DAY-shuhn); British English says /faʊndeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “foundation” mean?

As a noun: the basis on which something is grounded For example: “there is little foundation for his objections” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “foundation”?

Stress the second syllable: foun-DAT-ion. “dat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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