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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “liability”

“liability” is pronounced /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ (ly-uh-BI-li-tee) in American English and /laɪəbɪlɪti/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “bɪ”.
The sound

Say “liability” in 5 beats

Say it like this

liability

/ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/

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

5 beats
  1. laɪlaɪ
  2. əə
  3. bɪbɪstress
  4. lɪlɪ
  5. titi
IPA (American)
/ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/
IPA (British)
/laɪəbɪlɪti/
Respelling
ly-uh-BI-li-tee
Syllables
5 — laɪ-ə-BꞮ-lɪ-ti
Stress
Stress the third syllable: laɪ-ə-BꞮ-lɪ-ti. “bɪ” 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

/ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/

British

/laɪəbɪlɪti/

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

Meaning

What “liability” means

  1. noun

    the state of being legally obliged and responsible

  2. noun

    an obligation to pay money to another party

  3. noun

    the quality of being something that holds you back

Say it in a sentence

“The company accepted liability for the damaged shipment.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ll×2aɪlong iəschwabbɪshort i×2ttilong e

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

Questions

“liability”, answered

How do you pronounce “liability”?

“liability” is pronounced /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ (ly-uh-BI-li-tee) in American English and /laɪəbɪlɪti/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “bɪ”. Build it as laɪ-ə-BꞮ-lɪ-ti, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “liability” have?

5: laɪ · ə · bɪ · lɪ · ti. The beat lands on the third, “bɪ”.

Is “liability” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ (ly-uh-BI-li-tee); British English says /laɪəbɪlɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “liability” mean?

As a noun: the state of being legally obliged and responsible For example: “The company accepted liability for the damaged shipment.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “liability”?

Stress the third syllable: laɪ-ə-BꞮ-lɪ-ti. “bɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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