Pronunciation

How to pronounce “stay

“stay” is pronounced /steɪ/ (STAY) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “stay” in one beat

Say it like this

stay

/steɪ/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. staysteɪ
IPA (American)
/steɪ/
IPA (British)
/steɪ/
Respelling
STAY
Syllables
1 — stay
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /steɪ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Meaning

What “stay” means

  1. noun

    continuing or remaining in a place or state

    they had a nice stay in Paris

  2. noun

    the state of inactivity following an interruption

    the negotiations were in arrest

  3. noun

    a judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted

    the Supreme Court has the power to stay an injunction pending an appeal to the whole Court

Say it in a sentence

They decided to stay another night at the small inn.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

stay”, answered

How do you pronounce “stay”?

“stay” is pronounced /steɪ/ (STAY) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /steɪ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “stay” have?

One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /steɪ/ — a single beat.

What does “stay” mean?

As a noun: continuing or remaining in a place or state For example: “they had a nice stay in Paris” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “stay”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “stay” 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.