Pronunciation

How to pronounce “uses

“uses” is pronounced /ˈjusəz/ (YOO-suhz) in American English and /juːsɪz/ in British English, and /ˈjusɪz/ and /ˈjuzəz/ and /ˈjuzɪz/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “us”.
The sound

Say “uses” in 2 beats

Say it like this

uses

/ˈjusəz/

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

2 beats
  1. usjustress
  2. essəz
IPA (American)
/ˈjusəz/
IPA (British)
/juːsɪz/
Also accepted
/ˈjusɪz/
Also accepted
/ˈjuzəz/
Also accepted
/ˈjuzɪz/
Respelling
YOO-suhz
Syllables
2 — US-es
Stress
Stress the first syllable: US-es. “us” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈjusəz/

British

/juːsɪz/

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

Meaning

What “uses” means

  1. noun

    the act of using

    he warned against the use of narcotic drugs

  2. noun

    what something is used for

    the function of an auger is to bore holes

  3. noun

    a particular service

    he put his knowledge to good use

Say it in a sentence

The recipe uses only a handful of simple ingredients.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

uses”, answered

How do you pronounce “uses”?

“uses” is pronounced /ˈjusəz/ (YOO-suhz) in American English and /juːsɪz/ in British English, and /ˈjusɪz/ and /ˈjuzəz/ and /ˈjuzɪz/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “us”. Build it as US-es, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “uses” have?

2: us · es. The beat lands on the first, “us”.

Is “uses” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈjusəz/ (YOO-suhz); British English says /juːsɪz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “uses” mean?

As a noun: the act of using For example: “he warned against the use of narcotic drugs” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “uses”?

Stress the first syllable: US-es. “us” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “uses” 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.