How to pronounce “subpoena”
Say “subpoena” in 3 beats
subpoena
/səˈpinə/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /suːpiːnə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- subsə
- poenpistress
- anə
- IPA (American)
- /səˈpinə/
- IPA (British)
- /suːpiːnə/
- Respelling
- suh-PEE-nuh
- Syllables
- 3 — sub-POEN-a
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: sub-POEN-a. “poen” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/səˈpinə/
/suːpiːnə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “subpoena” means
- noun
a writ issued by court authority to compel the attendance of a witness at a judicial proceeding; disobedience may be punishable as a contempt of court
- verb
serve or summon with a subpoena
“The witness and her records were subpoenaed”
Say it in a sentence
“A subpoena required her to appear the following month.”“subpoena”, answered
How do you pronounce “subpoena”?
“subpoena” is pronounced /səˈpinə/ (suh-PEE-nuh) in American English and /suːpiːnə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “poen”. Build it as sub-POEN-a, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “subpoena” have?
3: sub · poen · a. The beat lands on the second, “poen”.
Is “subpoena” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /səˈpinə/ (suh-PEE-nuh); British English says /suːpiːnə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “subpoena” mean?
As a noun: a writ issued by court authority to compel the attendance of a witness at a judicial proceeding; disobedience may be punishable as a contempt of court For example: “A subpoena required her to appear the following month.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “subpoena”?
Stress the second syllable: sub-POEN-a. “poen” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “subpoena” 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.