Pronunciation

How to pronounce “restrain

“restrain” is pronounced /ɹiˈstɹeɪn/ (ree-STRAYN) in American English and /ɹɪstɹeɪn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “rain”.
The sound

Say “restrain” in 2 beats

Say it like this

restrain

/ɹiˈstɹeɪn/

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

2 beats
  1. restɹi
  2. rainstɹeɪnstress
IPA (American)
/ɹiˈstɹeɪn/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪstɹeɪn/
Respelling
ree-STRAYN
Syllables
2 — rest-RAIN
Stress
Stress the second syllable: rest-RAIN. “rain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/ɹiˈstɹeɪn/

British

/ɹɪstɹeɪn/

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

Meaning

What “restrain” means

  1. verb

    keep under control; keep in check

    suppress a smile

  2. verb

    place limits on (extent or access)

    restrict the use of this parking lot

  3. verb

    to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement

    This holds the local until the express passengers change trains

Say it in a sentence

It took two of us to restrain the excited dog.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

restrain”, answered

How do you pronounce “restrain”?

“restrain” is pronounced /ɹiˈstɹeɪn/ (ree-STRAYN) in American English and /ɹɪstɹeɪn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “rain”. Build it as rest-RAIN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “restrain” have?

2: rest · rain. The beat lands on the second, “rain”.

Is “restrain” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹiˈstɹeɪn/ (ree-STRAYN); British English says /ɹɪstɹeɪn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “restrain” mean?

As a verb: keep under control; keep in check For example: “suppress a smile” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “restrain”?

Stress the second syllable: rest-RAIN. “rain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “restrain” 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.