Pronunciation

How to pronounce “verbose

“verbose” is pronounced /vɚˈboʊs/ (vur-BOHS) in American English and /vɜːˈbəʊs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “boʊs”.
The sound

Say “verbose” in 2 beats

Say it like this

verbose

/vɚˈboʊs/

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

2 beats
  1. boʊsboʊsstress
IPA (American)
/vɚˈboʊs/
IPA (British)
/vɜːˈbəʊs/
Respelling
vur-BOHS
Syllables
2 — vɚ-BOƱS
Stress
Stress the second syllable: vɚ-BOƱS. “boʊs” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/vɚˈboʊs/

British

/vɜːˈbəʊs/

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

Watch out

Where “verbose” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    VUR-bohz

    the stress is on BOHS and it ends in a hissing s

Meaning

What “verbose” means

  1. adjective

    using or containing too many words

    long-winded (or windy) speakers

Say it in a sentence

The report was verbose where a single page would have done.
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

verbose”, answered

How do you pronounce “verbose”?

“verbose” is pronounced /vɚˈboʊs/ (vur-BOHS) in American English and /vɜːˈbəʊs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “boʊs”. Build it as vɚ-BOƱS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “verbose” have?

2: vɚ · boʊs. The beat lands on the second, “boʊs”.

Is “verbose” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /vɚˈboʊs/ (vur-BOHS); British English says /vɜːˈbəʊs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “verbose” mean?

As an adjective: using or containing too many words For example: “long-winded (or windy) speakers”

Where is the stress in “verbose”?

Stress the second syllable: vɚ-BOƱS. “boʊs” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “verbose” 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.