Pronunciation

How to pronounce “wholesale

“wholesale” is pronounced /ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/ (HOHL-sayl) in American English and /həʊlseɪl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “hoʊl”.
The sound

Say “wholesale” in 2 beats

Say it like this

wholesale

/ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/

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

2 beats
  1. hoʊlhoʊlstress
  2. seɪlseɪl
IPA (American)
/ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/
IPA (British)
/həʊlseɪl/
Respelling
HOHL-sayl
Syllables
2 — HOƱL-seɪl
Stress
Stress the first syllable: HOƱL-seɪl. “hoʊl” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective, adverb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/

British

/həʊlseɪl/

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

Meaning

What “wholesale” means

  1. noun

    the selling of goods to merchants; usually in large quantities for resale to consumers

  2. verb

    sell in large quantities

  3. adjective

    ignoring distinctions

    sweeping generalizations

Say it in a sentence

They buy flour wholesale and mill the rest themselves.
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

wholesale”, answered

How do you pronounce “wholesale”?

“wholesale” is pronounced /ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/ (HOHL-sayl) in American English and /həʊlseɪl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “hoʊl”. Build it as HOƱL-seɪl, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “wholesale” have?

2: hoʊl · seɪl. The beat lands on the first, “hoʊl”.

Is “wholesale” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/ (HOHL-sayl); British English says /həʊlseɪl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “wholesale” mean?

As a noun: the selling of goods to merchants; usually in large quantities for resale to consumers For example: “They buy flour wholesale and mill the rest themselves.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “wholesale”?

Stress the first syllable: HOƱL-seɪl. “hoʊl” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “wholesale” 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.