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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “substitute”

“substitute” is pronounced /ˈsʌbstəˌtut/ (SUB-stuh-toot) in American English and /sʌbstɪtjuːt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “sʌb”.
The sound

Say “substitute” in 3 beats

Say it like this

substitute

/ˈsʌbstəˌtut/

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

3 beats
  1. sʌbsʌbstress
  2. stəstə
  3. tuttut
IPA (American)
/ˈsʌbstəˌtut/
IPA (British)
/sʌbstɪtjuːt/
Respelling
SUB-stuh-toot
Syllables
3 — SɅB-stə-tut
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SɅB-stə-tut. “sʌb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsʌbstəˌtut/

British

/sʌbstɪtjuːt/

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

Meaning

What “substitute” means

  1. noun

    a person or thing that takes or can take the place of another

  2. noun

    an athlete who plays only when a starter on the team is replaced

  3. noun

    someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

    “the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes”

Say it in a sentence

“A substitute came on and scored within four minutes.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2ʌshort ubbtt×3əschwaulong oo

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“substitute”, answered

How do you pronounce “substitute”?

“substitute” is pronounced /ˈsʌbstəˌtut/ (SUB-stuh-toot) in American English and /sʌbstɪtjuːt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “sʌb”. Build it as SɅB-stə-tut, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “substitute” have?

3: sʌb · stə · tut. The beat lands on the first, “sʌb”.

Is “substitute” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsʌbstəˌtut/ (SUB-stuh-toot); British English says /sʌbstɪtjuːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “substitute” mean?

As a noun: a person or thing that takes or can take the place of another For example: “A substitute came on and scored within four minutes.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “substitute”?

Stress the first syllable: SɅB-stə-tut. “sʌb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “substitute” and see every sound

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