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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ready”

“ready” is pronounced /ˈɹɛdi/ (RE-dee) in American English and /ɹɛdi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “read”.
The sound

Say “ready” in 2 beats

Say it like this

ready

/ˈɹɛdi/

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

2 beats
  1. readɹɛstress
  2. ydi
IPA (American)
/ˈɹɛdi/
IPA (British)
/ɹɛdi/
Respelling
RE-dee
Syllables
2 — READ-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: READ-y. “read” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɹɛdi/

British

/ɹɛdi/

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

Meaning

What “ready” means

  1. noun

    poised for action

    “their guns were at the ready”

  2. verb

    prepare for eating by applying heat

    “Cook me dinner, please”

  3. verb

    make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc

    “Get the children ready for school!”

Say it in a sentence

“Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 sounds, in the order you say them
ɹrɛshort eddilong e

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

Questions

“ready”, answered

How do you pronounce “ready”?

“ready” is pronounced /ˈɹɛdi/ (RE-dee) in American English and /ɹɛdi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “read”. Build it as READ-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ready” have?

2: read · y. The beat lands on the first, “read”.

Is “ready” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɹɛdi/ (RE-dee); British English says /ɹɛdi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ready” mean?

As a noun: poised for action For example: “their guns were at the ready” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “ready”?

Stress the first syllable: READ-y. “read” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “ready” and see every sound

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