Pronunciation

How to pronounce “goal

“goal” is pronounced /ɡoʊl/ (GOHL) in American English and /ɡəʊl/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “goal” in one beat

Say it like this

goal

/ɡoʊl/

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

1 beat
  1. goalɡoʊl
IPA (American)
/ɡoʊl/
IPA (British)
/ɡəʊl/
Respelling
GOHL
Syllables
1 — goal
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ɡoʊl/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɡoʊl/

British

/ɡəʊl/

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

Meaning

What “goal” means

  1. noun

    the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it

    the ends justify the means

  2. noun

    the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)

    a crowd assembled at the finish

  3. noun

    game equipment consisting of the place toward which players of a game try to advance a ball or puck in order to score points

Say it in a sentence

Her goal was to finish the course before Christmas.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

goal”, answered

How do you pronounce “goal”?

“goal” is pronounced /ɡoʊl/ (GOHL) in American English and /ɡəʊl/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ɡoʊl/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “goal” have?

One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /ɡoʊl/ — a single beat.

Is “goal” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɡoʊl/ (GOHL); British English says /ɡəʊl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “goal” mean?

As a noun: the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it For example: “the ends justify the means” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “goal”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ɡoʊl/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “goal” 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.