sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “protect”

“protect” is pronounced /pɹəˈtɛkt/ (pruh-TEKT) in American English and /pɹətɛkt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ect”.
The sound

Say “protect” in 2 beats

Say it like this

protect

/pɹəˈtɛkt/

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

2 beats
  1. protpɹə
  2. ecttɛktstress
IPA (American)
/pɹəˈtɛkt/
IPA (British)
/pɹətɛkt/
Respelling
pruh-TEKT
Syllables
2 — prot-ECT
Stress
Stress the second syllable: prot-ECT. “ect” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɹəˈtɛkt/

British

/pɹətɛkt/

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

Meaning

What “protect” means

  1. verb

    shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage

    “Weatherbeater protects your roof from the rain”

  2. verb

    use tariffs to favor domestic industry

Say it in a sentence

“The fence was built to protect the garden from deer.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɹrəschwatt×2ɛshort ekk

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

Questions

“protect”, answered

How do you pronounce “protect”?

“protect” is pronounced /pɹəˈtɛkt/ (pruh-TEKT) in American English and /pɹətɛkt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ect”. Build it as prot-ECT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “protect” have?

2: prot · ect. The beat lands on the second, “ect”.

Is “protect” said differently in British English?

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

What does “protect” mean?

As a verb: shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage For example: “Weatherbeater protects your roof from the rain” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “protect”?

Stress the second syllable: prot-ECT. “ect” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “protect” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with P