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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “power”

“power” is pronounced /ˈpaʊɚ/ (POW-uh) in American English and /paʊə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “pow”.
The sound

Say “power” in 2 beats

Say it like this

power

/ˈpaʊɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. powpaʊstress
  2. erɚ
IPA (American)
/ˈpaʊɚ/
IPA (British)
/paʊə/
Respelling
POW-uh
Syllables
2 — POW-er
Stress
Stress the first syllable: POW-er. “pow” 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

/ˈpaʊɚ/

British

/paʊə/

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

Meaning

What “power” means

  1. noun

    possession of controlling influence

    “the deterrent power of nuclear weapons”

  2. noun

    (physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second)

  3. noun

    possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done

    “danger heightened his powers of discrimination”

Say it in a sentence

“The storm knocked out the power for most of the town.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 sounds, in the order you say them
ppaʊowɚschwa

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

Questions

“power”, answered

How do you pronounce “power”?

“power” is pronounced /ˈpaʊɚ/ (POW-uh) in American English and /paʊə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “pow”. Build it as POW-er, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “power” have?

2: pow · er. The beat lands on the first, “pow”.

Is “power” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpaʊɚ/ (POW-uh); British English says /paʊə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “power” mean?

As a noun: possession of controlling influence For example: “the deterrent power of nuclear weapons” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “power”?

Stress the first syllable: POW-er. “pow” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “power” and see every sound

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