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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “optimise”

“optimise” is pronounced /ˈɑptəˌmaɪz/ (OP-tuh-myze) in American English and /ˈɒptɪmaɪz/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɑp”.
The sound

Say “optimise” in 3 beats

Say it like this

optimise

/ˈɑptəˌmaɪz/

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

3 beats
  1. ɑpɑpstress
  2. tətə
  3. maɪzmaɪz
IPA (American)
/ˈɑptəˌmaɪz/
IPA (British)
/ˈɒptɪmaɪz/
Respelling
OP-tuh-myze
Syllables
3 — ⱭP-tə-maɪz
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ⱭP-tə-maɪz. “ɑp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɑptəˌmaɪz/

British

/ˈɒptɪmaɪz/

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

Watch out

Where “optimise” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “op-TIM-yze”

    the stress is on OP, the first syllable

Meaning

What “optimise” means

  1. verb

    make optimal; get the most out of; use best

    “optimize your resources”

  2. verb

    modify to achieve maximum efficiency in storage capacity or time or cost

    “optimize a computer program”

  3. verb

    act as an optimist and take a sunny view of the world

Say it in a sentence

“We optimise the images before they go on the site.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɑahppttəschwammaɪlong izz

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

Questions

“optimise”, answered

How do you pronounce “optimise”?

“optimise” is pronounced /ˈɑptəˌmaɪz/ (OP-tuh-myze) in American English and /ˈɒptɪmaɪz/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɑp”. Build it as ⱭP-tə-maɪz, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “optimise” have?

3: ɑp · tə · maɪz. The beat lands on the first, “ɑp”.

Is “optimise” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɑptəˌmaɪz/ (OP-tuh-myze); British English says /ˈɒptɪmaɪz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “optimise” mean?

As a verb: make optimal; get the most out of; use best For example: “optimize your resources” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “optimise”?

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

Practise this word

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