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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “retain”

“retain” is pronounced /ɹɪˈteɪn/ (ri-TAYN) in American English and /ɹɪteɪn/ in British English, and /ɹiˈteɪn/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “ain”.
The sound

Say “retain” in 2 beats

Say it like this

retain

/ɹɪˈteɪn/

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

2 beats
  1. retɹɪ
  2. ainteɪnstress
IPA (American)
/ɹɪˈteɪn/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪteɪn/
Also accepted
/ɹiˈteɪn/
Respelling
ri-TAYN
Syllables
2 — ret-AIN
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ret-AIN. “ain” 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

/ɹɪˈteɪn/

British

/ɹɪteɪn/

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

Meaning

What “retain” means

  1. verb

    hold back within

    “This soil retains water”

  2. verb

    allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature

    “We cannot continue several servants any longer”

  3. verb

    secure and keep for possible future use or application

    “The landlord retained the security deposit”

Say it in a sentence

“The old kettle does retain heat for ages.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ɹrɪshort itteɪlong ann

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

Questions

“retain”, answered

How do you pronounce “retain”?

“retain” is pronounced /ɹɪˈteɪn/ (ri-TAYN) in American English and /ɹɪteɪn/ in British English, and /ɹiˈteɪn/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “ain”. Build it as ret-AIN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “retain” have?

2: ret · ain. The beat lands on the second, “ain”.

Is “retain” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈteɪn/ (ri-TAYN); British English says /ɹɪteɪn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “retain” mean?

As a verb: hold back within For example: “This soil retains water” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “retain”?

Stress the second syllable: ret-AIN. “ain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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