Pronunciation

How to pronounce “prohibit

“prohibit” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈhɪbət/ (proh-HI-buht) in American English and /pɹəhɪbɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ib”.
The sound

Say “prohibit” in 3 beats

Say it like this

prohibit

/pɹoʊˈhɪbət/

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

3 beats
  1. prohpɹoʊ
  2. ibstress
  3. itbət
IPA (American)
/pɹoʊˈhɪbət/
IPA (British)
/pɹəhɪbɪt/
Respelling
proh-HI-buht
Syllables
3 — proh-IB-it
Stress
Stress the second syllable: proh-IB-it. “ib” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɹoʊˈhɪbət/

British

/pɹəhɪbɪt/

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

Meaning

What “prohibit” means

  1. verb

    command against

    I forbid you to call me late at night

Say it in a sentence

The signs prohibit swimming anywhere near the weir.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

prohibit”, answered

How do you pronounce “prohibit”?

“prohibit” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈhɪbət/ (proh-HI-buht) in American English and /pɹəhɪbɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ib”. Build it as proh-IB-it, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “prohibit” have?

3: proh · ib · it. The beat lands on the second, “ib”.

Is “prohibit” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹoʊˈhɪbət/ (proh-HI-buht); British English says /pɹəhɪbɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “prohibit” mean?

As a verb: command against For example: “I forbid you to call me late at night”

Where is the stress in “prohibit”?

Stress the second syllable: proh-IB-it. “ib” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “prohibit” 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.