Pronunciation

How to pronounce “works

“works” is pronounced /wɝks/ (WURKS) in American English and /wɜːks/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “works” in one beat

Say it like this

works

/wɝks/

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

1 beat
  1. workswɝks
IPA (American)
/wɝks/
IPA (British)
/wɜːks/
Respelling
WURKS
Syllables
1 — works
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /wɝks/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
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

/wɝks/

British

/wɜːks/

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

Meaning

What “works” means

  1. noun

    buildings for carrying on industrial labor

    they built a large plant to manufacture automobiles

  2. noun

    everything available; usually preceded by `the'

    we saw the whole shebang

  3. noun

    performance of moral or religious acts

    salvation by deeds

Say it in a sentence

The new heating system works much better than the old one.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

works”, answered

How do you pronounce “works”?

“works” is pronounced /wɝks/ (WURKS) in American English and /wɜːks/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /wɝks/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “works” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /wɝks/ — a single beat.

Is “works” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /wɝks/ (WURKS); British English says /wɜːks/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “works” mean?

As a noun: buildings for carrying on industrial labor For example: “they built a large plant to manufacture automobiles” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “works”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /wɝks/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “works” 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.