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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “undermine”

“undermine” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌmaɪn/ (UN-duh-myn) in American English and /ʌndəmaɪn/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ʌn”.
The sound

Say “undermine” in 3 beats

Say it like this

undermine

/ˈʌndɚˌmaɪn/

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

3 beats
  1. ʌnʌnstress
  2. dɚdɚ
  3. maɪnmaɪn
IPA (American)
/ˈʌndɚˌmaɪn/
IPA (British)
/ʌndəmaɪn/
Respelling
UN-duh-myn
Syllables
3 — ɅN-dɚ-maɪn
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ɅN-dɚ-maɪn. “ʌn” 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

/ˈʌndɚˌmaɪn/

British

/ʌndəmaɪn/

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

Meaning

What “undermine” means

  1. verb

    destroy property or hinder normal operations

    “The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war”

  2. verb

    hollow out as if making a cave or opening

    “The river was caving the banks”

Say it in a sentence

“Constant small criticisms will undermine anyone's confidence in the end.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ʌshort unn×2ddɚschwammaɪlong i

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

Questions

“undermine”, answered

How do you pronounce “undermine”?

“undermine” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌmaɪn/ (UN-duh-myn) in American English and /ʌndəmaɪn/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ʌn”. Build it as ɅN-dɚ-maɪn, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “undermine” have?

3: ʌn · dɚ · maɪn. The beat lands on the first, “ʌn”.

Is “undermine” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈʌndɚˌmaɪn/ (UN-duh-myn); British English says /ʌndəmaɪn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “undermine” mean?

As a verb: destroy property or hinder normal operations For example: “The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “undermine”?

Stress the first syllable: ɅN-dɚ-maɪn. “ʌn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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