Pronunciation

How to pronounce “story

“story” is pronounced /ˈstɔɹi/ (STAW-ree) in American English and /stɔːɹi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “stor”.
The sound

Say “story” in 2 beats

Say it like this

story

/ˈstɔɹi/

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

2 beats
  1. storstɔstress
  2. yɹi
IPA (American)
/ˈstɔɹi/
IPA (British)
/stɔːɹi/
Respelling
STAW-ree
Syllables
2 — STOR-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: STOR-y. “stor” 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

/ˈstɔɹi/

British

/stɔːɹi/

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

Meaning

What “story” means

  1. noun

    a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program

    his narrative was interesting

  2. noun

    a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events

    he writes stories for the magazines

  3. noun

    a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale

    what level is the office on?

Say it in a sentence

He told the children a bedtime story about a dragon.
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

story”, answered

How do you pronounce “story”?

“story” is pronounced /ˈstɔɹi/ (STAW-ree) in American English and /stɔːɹi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “stor”. Build it as STOR-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “story” have?

2: stor · y. The beat lands on the first, “stor”.

Is “story” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈstɔɹi/ (STAW-ree); British English says /stɔːɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “story” mean?

As a noun: a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program For example: “his narrative was interesting” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “story”?

Stress the first syllable: STOR-y. “stor” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “story” 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.