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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “overlap”

“overlap” is pronounced /ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/ (OH-vuh-lap) in American English and /əʊvəlap/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ov”.
The sound

Say “overlap” in 3 beats

Say it like this

overlap

/ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/

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

3 beats
  1. ovoʊstress
  2. ervɚ
  3. laplæp
IPA (American)
/ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/
IPA (British)
/əʊvəlap/
Respelling
OH-vuh-lap
Syllables
3 — OV-er-lap
Stress
Stress the first syllable: OV-er-lap. “ov” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/

British

/əʊvəlap/

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

Meaning

What “overlap” means

  1. noun

    a representation of common ground between theories or phenomena

    “there was no overlap between their proposals”

  2. noun

    the property of partial coincidence in time

  3. noun

    a flap that lies over another part

    “the lap of the shingles should be at least ten inches”

Say it in a sentence

“There is an overlap between the two shifts at noon.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
oʊlong ovvɚschwallæshort app

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

Questions

“overlap”, answered

How do you pronounce “overlap”?

“overlap” is pronounced /ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/ (OH-vuh-lap) in American English and /əʊvəlap/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ov”. Build it as OV-er-lap, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “overlap” have?

3: ov · er · lap. The beat lands on the first, “ov”.

Is “overlap” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/ (OH-vuh-lap); British English says /əʊvəlap/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “overlap” mean?

As a noun: a representation of common ground between theories or phenomena For example: “there was no overlap between their proposals” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “overlap”?

Stress the first syllable: OV-er-lap. “ov” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “overlap” and see every sound

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