Pronunciation

How to pronounce “minimise

“minimise” is pronounced /ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/ (MIN-uh-myze) in American English and /ˈmɪnɪmaɪz/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “mɪ”.
The sound

Say “minimise” in 3 beats

Say it like this

minimise

/ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. maɪzmaɪz
IPA (American)
/ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/
IPA (British)
/ˈmɪnɪmaɪz/
Respelling
MIN-uh-myze
Syllables
3 — MꞮ-nə-maɪz
Stress
Stress the first syllable: MꞮ-nə-maɪz. “mɪ” 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

/ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/

British

/ˈmɪnɪmaɪz/

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

Watch out

Where “minimise” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    mih-NIM-yze

    the stress is on MIN, the first syllable

Meaning

What “minimise” means

  1. verb

    represent as less significant or important

  2. verb

    make small or insignificant

    Let's minimize the risk

Say it in a sentence

Close the vents to minimise the draught from the hallway.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

minimise”, answered

How do you pronounce “minimise”?

“minimise” is pronounced /ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/ (MIN-uh-myze) in American English and /ˈmɪnɪmaɪz/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “mɪ”. Build it as MꞮ-nə-maɪz, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “minimise” have?

3: mɪ · nə · maɪz. The beat lands on the first, “mɪ”.

Is “minimise” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/ (MIN-uh-myze); British English says /ˈmɪnɪmaɪz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “minimise” mean?

As a verb: represent as less significant or important For example: “Close the vents to minimise the draught from the hallway.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “minimise”?

Stress the first syllable: MꞮ-nə-maɪz. “mɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “minimise” 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.