Pronunciation

How to pronounce “pollution

“pollution” is pronounced /pəˈluʃən/ (puh-LOO-shuhn) in American English and /pəluːʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “lut”.
The sound

Say “pollution” in 3 beats

Say it like this

pollution

/pəˈluʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. pol
  2. lutlustress
  3. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/pəˈluʃən/
IPA (British)
/pəluːʃən/
Respelling
puh-LOO-shuhn
Syllables
3 — pol-LUT-ion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pol-LUT-ion. “lut” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall 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

/pəˈluʃən/

British

/pəluːʃən/

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

Meaning

What “pollution” means

  1. noun

    undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities

  2. noun

    the state of being polluted

  3. noun

    the act of contaminating or polluting; including (either intentionally or accidentally) unwanted substances or factors

Say it in a sentence

Pollution in the river dropped sharply after the mill closed.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

pollution”, answered

How do you pronounce “pollution”?

“pollution” is pronounced /pəˈluʃən/ (puh-LOO-shuhn) in American English and /pəluːʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “lut”. Build it as pol-LUT-ion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “pollution” have?

3: pol · lut · ion. The beat lands on the second, “lut”.

Is “pollution” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pəˈluʃən/ (puh-LOO-shuhn); British English says /pəluːʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “pollution” mean?

As a noun: undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities For example: “Pollution in the river dropped sharply after the mill closed.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “pollution”?

Stress the second syllable: pol-LUT-ion. “lut” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “pollution” and see every sound

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