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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “investigate”

“investigate” is pronounced /ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪt/ (in-VE-stuh-gayt) in American English and /ɪnvɛstɪɡeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “vɛ”.
The sound

Say “investigate” in 4 beats

Say it like this

investigate

/ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪt/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪnɪn
  2. vɛvɛstress
  3. stəstə
  4. ɡeɪtɡeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɪnvɛstɪɡeɪt/
Respelling
in-VE-stuh-gayt
Syllables
4 — ɪn-VƐ-stə-ɡeɪt
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪn-VƐ-stə-ɡeɪt. “vɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪt/

British

/ɪnvɛstɪɡeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “investigate” means

  1. verb

    investigate scientifically

    “Let's investigate the syntax of Chinese”

  2. verb

    conduct an inquiry or investigation of

    “The district attorney's office investigated reports of possible irregularities”

Say it in a sentence

“The council agreed to investigate the flooding properly.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort innvvɛshort esstt×2əschwaɡgeɪlong a

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

Questions

“investigate”, answered

How do you pronounce “investigate”?

“investigate” is pronounced /ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪt/ (in-VE-stuh-gayt) in American English and /ɪnvɛstɪɡeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “vɛ”. Build it as ɪn-VƐ-stə-ɡeɪt, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “investigate” have?

4: ɪn · vɛ · stə · ɡeɪt. The beat lands on the second, “vɛ”.

Is “investigate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡeɪt/ (in-VE-stuh-gayt); British English says /ɪnvɛstɪɡeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “investigate” mean?

As a verb: investigate scientifically For example: “Let's investigate the syntax of Chinese” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “investigate”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪn-VƐ-stə-ɡeɪt. “vɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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