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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “inventory”

“inventory” is pronounced /ˌɪnvənˈtɔɹi/ (in-vuhn-TAW-ree) in American English and /ɪnvəntɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tor”.
The sound

Say “inventory” in 4 beats

Say it like this

inventory

/ˌɪnvənˈtɔɹi/

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

4 beats
  1. inɪn
  2. venvən
  3. tortɔstress
  4. yɹi
IPA (American)
/ˌɪnvənˈtɔɹi/
IPA (British)
/ɪnvəntɹi/
Respelling
in-vuhn-TAW-ree
Syllables
4 — in-ven-TOR-y
Stress
Stress the third syllable: in-ven-TOR-y. “tor” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪnvənˈtɔɹi/

British

/ɪnvəntɹi/

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

Meaning

What “inventory” means

  1. noun

    a detailed list of all the items in stock

  2. noun

    the merchandise that a shop has on hand

    “they carried a vast inventory of hardware”

  3. noun

    (accounting) the value of a firm's current assets including raw materials and work in progress and finished goods

Say it in a sentence

“We took an inventory of the shed on a wet Sunday.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort inn×2vvəschwattɔawɹrilong e

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

Questions

“inventory”, answered

How do you pronounce “inventory”?

“inventory” is pronounced /ˌɪnvənˈtɔɹi/ (in-vuhn-TAW-ree) in American English and /ɪnvəntɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tor”. Build it as in-ven-TOR-y, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “inventory” have?

4: in · ven · tor · y. The beat lands on the third, “tor”.

Is “inventory” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪnvənˈtɔɹi/ (in-vuhn-TAW-ree); British English says /ɪnvəntɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “inventory” mean?

As a noun: a detailed list of all the items in stock For example: “We took an inventory of the shed on a wet Sunday.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “inventory”?

Stress the third syllable: in-ven-TOR-y. “tor” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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