Pronunciation

How to pronounce “payroll

“payroll” is pronounced /ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/ (PAY-rohl) in American English and /peɪɹəʊl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “payr”.
The sound

Say “payroll” in 2 beats

Say it like this

payroll

/ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/

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

2 beats
  1. payrpeɪstress
  2. ollɹoʊl
IPA (American)
/ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/
IPA (British)
/peɪɹəʊl/
Respelling
PAY-rohl
Syllables
2 — PAYR-oll
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PAYR-oll. “payr” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/

British

/peɪɹəʊl/

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

Meaning

What “payroll” means

  1. noun

    a list of employees and their salaries

    the company had a long payroll

  2. noun

    the total amount of money paid in wages

    the company had a large payroll

  3. noun

    the department that determines the amounts of wage or salary due to each employee

Say it in a sentence

There are only nine people on the payroll this winter.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

payroll”, answered

How do you pronounce “payroll”?

“payroll” is pronounced /ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/ (PAY-rohl) in American English and /peɪɹəʊl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “payr”. Build it as PAYR-oll, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “payroll” have?

2: payr · oll. The beat lands on the first, “payr”.

Is “payroll” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/ (PAY-rohl); British English says /peɪɹəʊl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “payroll” mean?

As a noun: a list of employees and their salaries For example: “the company had a long payroll” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “payroll”?

Stress the first syllable: PAYR-oll. “payr” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “payroll” 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.