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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “preserve”

“preserve” is pronounced /pɹəˈzɝv/ (pruh-ZURV) in American English and /pɹɪzɜːv/ in British English, and /pɹɪˈzɝv/ and /pɹiˈzɝv/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “zɝv”.
The sound

Say “preserve” in 2 beats

Say it like this

preserve

/pɹəˈzɝv/

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

2 beats
  1. pɹəpɹə
  2. zɝvzɝvstress
IPA (American)
/pɹəˈzɝv/
IPA (British)
/pɹɪzɜːv/
Also accepted
/pɹɪˈzɝv/
Also accepted
/pɹiˈzɝv/
Respelling
pruh-ZURV
Syllables
2 — pɹə-ZɝV
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pɹə-ZɝV. “zɝv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/pɹəˈzɝv/

British

/pɹɪzɜːv/

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

Meaning

What “preserve” means

  1. noun

    a domain that seems to be specially reserved for someone

    “medicine is no longer a male preserve”

  2. noun

    a reservation where animals are protected

  3. noun

    fruit preserved by cooking with sugar

Say it in a sentence

“They preserve the fruit in jars and keep it all winter.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɹrəschwazzɝervv

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

Questions

“preserve”, answered

How do you pronounce “preserve”?

“preserve” is pronounced /pɹəˈzɝv/ (pruh-ZURV) in American English and /pɹɪzɜːv/ in British English, and /pɹɪˈzɝv/ and /pɹiˈzɝv/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “zɝv”. Build it as pɹə-ZɝV, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “preserve” have?

2: pɹə · zɝv. The beat lands on the second, “zɝv”.

Is “preserve” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹəˈzɝv/ (pruh-ZURV); British English says /pɹɪzɜːv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “preserve” mean?

As a noun: a domain that seems to be specially reserved for someone For example: “medicine is no longer a male preserve” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “preserve”?

Stress the second syllable: pɹə-ZɝV. “zɝv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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