Pronunciation

How to pronounce “squander

“squander” is pronounced /ˈskwɑndɚ/ (SKWAHN-duh) in American English and /skwɒndə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “squan”.
The sound

Say “squander” in 2 beats

Say it like this

squander

/ˈskwɑndɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. squanskwɑnstress
  2. der
IPA (American)
/ˈskwɑndɚ/
IPA (British)
/skwɒndə/
Respelling
SKWAHN-duh
Syllables
2 — SQUAN-der
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SQUAN-der. “squan” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈskwɑndɚ/

British

/skwɒndə/

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

Meaning

What “squander” means

  1. verb

    spend thoughtlessly; throw away

    He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends

  2. verb

    spend extravagantly

    waste not, want not

Say it in a sentence

Do not squander a dry afternoon in late October.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

squander”, answered

How do you pronounce “squander”?

“squander” is pronounced /ˈskwɑndɚ/ (SKWAHN-duh) in American English and /skwɒndə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “squan”. Build it as SQUAN-der, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “squander” have?

2: squan · der. The beat lands on the first, “squan”.

Is “squander” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈskwɑndɚ/ (SKWAHN-duh); British English says /skwɒndə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “squander” mean?

As a verb: spend thoughtlessly; throw away For example: “He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “squander”?

Stress the first syllable: SQUAN-der. “squan” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “squander” 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.