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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “police”

“police” is pronounced /pəˈlis/ (puh-LEES) in American English and /pəliːs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lis”.
The sound

Say “police” in 2 beats

Say it like this

police

/pəˈlis/

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

2 beats
  1. pəpə
  2. lislisstress
IPA (American)
/pəˈlis/
IPA (British)
/pəliːs/
Respelling
puh-LEES
Syllables
2 — pə-LIS
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pə-LIS. “lis” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pəˈlis/

British

/pəliːs/

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

Meaning

What “police” means

  1. noun

    the force of policemen and officers

    “the law came looking for him”

  2. verb

    maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol

Say it in a sentence

“The police closed the road after the accident.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ppəschwallilong ess

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

Questions

“police”, answered

How do you pronounce “police”?

“police” is pronounced /pəˈlis/ (puh-LEES) in American English and /pəliːs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lis”. Build it as pə-LIS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “police” have?

2: pə · lis. The beat lands on the second, “lis”.

Is “police” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pəˈlis/ (puh-LEES); British English says /pəliːs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “police” mean?

As a noun: the force of policemen and officers For example: “the law came looking for him” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “police”?

Stress the second syllable: pə-LIS. “lis” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “police” and see every sound

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