Pronunciation

How to pronounce “smart

“smart” is pronounced /smɑɹt/ (SMAHRT) in American English and /smɑːt/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “smart” in one beat

Say it like this

smart

/smɑɹt/

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

1 beat
  1. smartsmɑɹt
IPA (American)
/smɑɹt/
IPA (British)
/smɑːt/
Respelling
SMAHRT
Syllables
1 — smart
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /smɑɹt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
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

/smɑɹt/

British

/smɑːt/

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

Meaning

What “smart” means

  1. noun

    a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore

  2. verb

    be the source of pain

  3. adjective

    showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness

Say it in a sentence

She wore a smart jacket for the job interview.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

smart”, answered

How do you pronounce “smart”?

“smart” is pronounced /smɑɹt/ (SMAHRT) in American English and /smɑːt/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /smɑɹt/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “smart” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /smɑɹt/ — a single beat.

Is “smart” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /smɑɹt/ (SMAHRT); British English says /smɑːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “smart” mean?

As a noun: a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore For example: “She wore a smart jacket for the job interview.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “smart”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /smɑɹt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “smart” 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.