How to pronounce “last”
Say “last” in one beat
last
/læst/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /last/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- lastlæst
- IPA (American)
- /læst/
- IPA (British)
- /last/
- Also accepted
- /læs/
- Respelling
- LAST
- Syllables
- 1 — last
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /læst/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb, adjective, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/læst/
/last/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “last” means
- noun
the temporal end; the concluding time
“the stopping point of each round was signaled by a bell”
- noun
the last or lowest in an ordering or series
“he was the last to leave”
- noun
a person's dying act; the final thing a person can do
“he breathed his last”
Say it in a sentence
“We caught the last train home after the show ended.”“last”, answered
How do you pronounce “last”?
“last” is pronounced /læst/ (LAST) in American English and /last/ in British English, and /læs/ is also accepted — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /læst/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “last” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /læst/ — a single beat.
Is “last” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /læst/ (LAST); British English says /last/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “last” mean?
As a noun: the temporal end; the concluding time For example: “the stopping point of each round was signaled by a bell” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “last”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /læst/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “last” 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.