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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “senate”

“senate” is pronounced /ˈsɛnət/ (SE-nuht) in American English and /sɛnət/ in British English, and /ˈsɛnɪt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “sɛ”.
The sound

Say “senate” in 2 beats

Say it like this

senate

/ˈsɛnət/

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

2 beats
  1. sɛsɛstress
  2. nətnət
IPA (American)
/ˈsɛnət/
IPA (British)
/sɛnət/
Also accepted
/ˈsɛnɪt/
Respelling
SE-nuht
Syllables
2 — SƐ-nət
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SƐ-nət. “sɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsɛnət/

British

/sɛnət/

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

Meaning

What “senate” means

  1. noun

    assembly possessing high legislative powers

  2. noun

    the upper house of the United States Congress

Say it in a sentence

“The senate passed the new bill after a long debate.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ssɛshort ennəschwatt

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

Questions

“senate”, answered

How do you pronounce “senate”?

“senate” is pronounced /ˈsɛnət/ (SE-nuht) in American English and /sɛnət/ in British English, and /ˈsɛnɪt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “sɛ”. Build it as SƐ-nət, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “senate” have?

2: sɛ · nət. The beat lands on the first, “sɛ”.

Is “senate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsɛnət/ (SE-nuht); British English says /sɛnət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “senate” mean?

As a noun: assembly possessing high legislative powers For example: “The senate passed the new bill after a long debate.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “senate”?

Stress the first syllable: SƐ-nət. “sɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “senate” and see every sound

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