Pronunciation

How to pronounce “underwrite

“underwrite” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌɹaɪt/ (UN-duh-ryt) in American English and /ʌndəɹaɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ʌn”.
The sound

Say “underwrite” in 3 beats

Say it like this

underwrite

/ˈʌndɚˌɹaɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. ʌnʌnstress
  2. ɹaɪtɹaɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈʌndɚˌɹaɪt/
IPA (British)
/ʌndəɹaɪt/
Respelling
UN-duh-ryt
Syllables
3 — ɅN-dɚ-ɹaɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ɅN-dɚ-ɹaɪt. “ʌn” 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

/ˈʌndɚˌɹaɪt/

British

/ʌndəɹaɪt/

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

Meaning

What “underwrite” means

  1. verb

    guarantee financial support of

    The opera tour was subvented by a bank

  2. verb

    protect by insurance

    The insurance won't cover this

Say it in a sentence

A local firm agreed to underwrite the whole festival.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

underwrite”, answered

How do you pronounce “underwrite”?

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

How many syllables does “underwrite” have?

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

Is “underwrite” said differently in British English?

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

What does “underwrite” mean?

As a verb: guarantee financial support of For example: “The opera tour was subvented by a bank” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “underwrite”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “underwrite” 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.