Pronunciation

How to pronounce “terminate

“terminate” is pronounced /ˈtɝməˌneɪt/ (TUR-muh-nayt) in American English and /tɜːmɪneɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “tɝ”.
The sound

Say “terminate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

terminate

/ˈtɝməˌneɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. neɪtneɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈtɝməˌneɪt/
IPA (British)
/tɜːmɪneɪt/
Respelling
TUR-muh-nayt
Syllables
3 — Tɝ-mə-neɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Tɝ-mə-neɪt. “tɝ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈtɝməˌneɪt/

British

/tɜːmɪneɪt/

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

Meaning

What “terminate” means

  1. verb

    bring to an end or halt

    She ended their friendship when she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime

  2. verb

    have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical

    the bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed

  3. verb

    be the end of; be the last or concluding part of

    This sad scene ended the movie

Say it in a sentence

The lease will terminate at the end of March.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

terminate”, answered

How do you pronounce “terminate”?

“terminate” is pronounced /ˈtɝməˌneɪt/ (TUR-muh-nayt) in American English and /tɜːmɪneɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “tɝ”. Build it as Tɝ-mə-neɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “terminate” have?

3: tɝ · mə · neɪt. The beat lands on the first, “tɝ”.

Is “terminate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈtɝməˌneɪt/ (TUR-muh-nayt); British English says /tɜːmɪneɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “terminate” mean?

As a verb: bring to an end or halt For example: “She ended their friendship when she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “terminate”?

Stress the first syllable: Tɝ-mə-neɪt. “tɝ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “terminate” and see every sound

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