Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sold

“sold” is pronounced /soʊld/ (SOHLD) in American English and /səʊld/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “sold” in one beat

Say it like this

sold

/soʊld/

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

1 beat
  1. soldsoʊld
IPA (American)
/soʊld/
IPA (British)
/səʊld/
Respelling
SOHLD
Syllables
1 — sold
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /soʊld/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/soʊld/

British

/səʊld/

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

Meaning

What “sold” means

  1. verb

    exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent

    He sold his house in January

  2. verb

    be sold at a certain price or in a certain way

    These books sell like hot cakes

  3. verb

    persuade somebody to accept something

    The French try to sell us their image as great lovers

Say it in a sentence

They sold the old cabin to a young couple last spring.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

sold”, answered

How do you pronounce “sold”?

“sold” is pronounced /soʊld/ (SOHLD) in American English and /səʊld/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /soʊld/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “sold” have?

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

Is “sold” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /soʊld/ (SOHLD); British English says /səʊld/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “sold” mean?

As a verb: exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent For example: “He sold his house in January” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “sold”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “sold” 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.