Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sword

“sword” is pronounced /sɔɹd/ (SORD) in American English and /sɔːd/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “sword” in one beat

Say it like this

sword

/sɔɹd/

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

1 beat
  1. swordsɔɹd
IPA (American)
/sɔɹd/
IPA (British)
/sɔːd/
Respelling
SORD
Syllables
1 — sword
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /sɔɹd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/sɔɹd/

British

/sɔːd/

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

Watch out

Where “sword” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    SWORD with a w

    the w is silent: it rhymes with board

Meaning

What “sword” means

  1. noun

    a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard

Say it in a sentence

The museum keeps a sword that belonged to a local general.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

sword”, answered

How do you pronounce “sword”?

“sword” is pronounced /sɔɹd/ (SORD) in American English and /sɔːd/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /sɔɹd/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “sword” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /sɔɹd/ — a single beat.

Is “sword” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /sɔɹd/ (SORD); British English says /sɔːd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “sword” mean?

As a noun: a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard For example: “The museum keeps a sword that belonged to a local general.”

Where is the stress in “sword”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “sword” 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.