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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “occupy”

“occupy” is pronounced /ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/ (AH-kyuh-py) in American English and /ɒkjʊpaɪ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “oc”.
The sound

Say “occupy” in 3 beats

Say it like this

occupy

/ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/

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

3 beats
  1. ocɑstress
  2. cupkjə
  3. ypaɪ
IPA (American)
/ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/
IPA (British)
/ɒkjʊpaɪ/
Respelling
AH-kyuh-py
Syllables
3 — OC-cup-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: OC-cup-y. “oc” 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

/ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/

British

/ɒkjʊpaɪ/

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

Meaning

What “occupy” means

  1. verb

    keep busy with

    “She busies herself with her butterfly collection”

  2. verb

    live (in a certain place)

    “She resides in Princeton”

  3. verb

    occupy the whole of

    “The liquid fills the container”

Say it in a sentence

“Two families occupy the cottage during the summer months.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɑahkkjyəschwappaɪlong i

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

Questions

“occupy”, answered

How do you pronounce “occupy”?

“occupy” is pronounced /ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/ (AH-kyuh-py) in American English and /ɒkjʊpaɪ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “oc”. Build it as OC-cup-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “occupy” have?

3: oc · cup · y. The beat lands on the first, “oc”.

Is “occupy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/ (AH-kyuh-py); British English says /ɒkjʊpaɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “occupy” mean?

As a verb: keep busy with For example: “She busies herself with her butterfly collection” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “occupy”?

Stress the first syllable: OC-cup-y. “oc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “occupy” and see every sound

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