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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “underpin”

“underpin” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌpɪn/ (UN-duh-pin) in American English and /ʌndəpɪn/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “un”.
The sound

Say “underpin” in 3 beats

Say it like this

underpin

/ˈʌndɚˌpɪn/

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

3 beats
  1. unʌnstress
  2. derdɚ
  3. pinpɪn
IPA (American)
/ˈʌndɚˌpɪn/
IPA (British)
/ʌndəpɪn/
Respelling
UN-duh-pin
Syllables
3 — UN-der-pin
Stress
Stress the first syllable: UN-der-pin. “un” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈʌndɚˌpɪn/

British

/ʌndəpɪn/

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

Meaning

What “underpin” means

  1. verb

    support from beneath

  2. verb

    support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm

    “The stories and claims were born out by the evidence”

Say it in a sentence

“Two steel beams underpin the wall behind the shop.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

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

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

Questions

“underpin”, answered

How do you pronounce “underpin”?

“underpin” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌpɪn/ (UN-duh-pin) in American English and /ʌndəpɪn/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “un”. Build it as UN-der-pin, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “underpin” have?

3: un · der · pin. The beat lands on the first, “un”.

Is “underpin” said differently in British English?

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

What does “underpin” mean?

As a verb: support from beneath For example: “Two steel beams underpin the wall behind the shop.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “underpin”?

Stress the first syllable: UN-der-pin. “un” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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