Pronunciation

How to pronounce “laboratory

“laboratory” is pronounced /ˈlæbɹəˌtɔɹi/ (LAB-ruh-tor-ee (UK luh-BORR-uh-tree)) in American English and /ləˈbɒɹətɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “læ”.
The sound

Say “laboratory” in 4 beats

Say it like this

laboratory

/ˈlæbɹəˌtɔɹi/

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

4 beats
  1. stress
  2. bɹəbɹə
  3. ɹiɹi
IPA (American)
/ˈlæbɹəˌtɔɹi/
IPA (British)
/ləˈbɒɹətɹi/
Respelling
LAB-ruh-tor-ee (UK luh-BORR-uh-tree)
Syllables
4 — LÆ-bɹə-tɔ-ɹi
Stress
Stress the first syllable: LÆ-bɹə-tɔ-ɹi. “læ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈlæbɹəˌtɔɹi/

British

/ləˈbɒɹətɹi/

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

Watch out

Where “laboratory” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    one form is wrong

    American English stresses the first syllable; British English stresses the second

Meaning

What “laboratory” means

  1. noun

    a workplace for the conduct of scientific research

  2. noun

    a region resembling a laboratory inasmuch as it offers opportunities for observation and practice and experimentation

    the new nation is a testing ground for socioeconomic theories

Say it in a sentence

Samples are sent to the laboratory at the end of each day.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

laboratory”, answered

How do you pronounce “laboratory”?

“laboratory” is pronounced /ˈlæbɹəˌtɔɹi/ (LAB-ruh-tor-ee (UK luh-BORR-uh-tree)) in American English and /ləˈbɒɹətɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “læ”. Build it as LÆ-bɹə-tɔ-ɹi, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “laboratory” have?

4: læ · bɹə · tɔ · ɹi. The beat lands on the first, “læ”.

Is “laboratory” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈlæbɹəˌtɔɹi/ (LAB-ruh-tor-ee (UK luh-BORR-uh-tree)); British English says /ləˈbɒɹətɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “laboratory” mean?

As a noun: a workplace for the conduct of scientific research For example: “Samples are sent to the laboratory at the end of each day.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “laboratory”?

Stress the first syllable: LÆ-bɹə-tɔ-ɹi. “læ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “laboratory” 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.