Pronunciation · Words that change with stress

    How to pronounce “record”

    REK-ord

    2 syllables · stress on “REK”

    REKord
    Britishˈrekɔːd
    Americanˈrekərd

    In short

    “record” is pronounced REK-ord: 2 syllables, with the stress on “REK”. Both forms are extremely common in everyday speech, and the vowel changes as well as the stress: the noun's second vowel is full, the verb's first vowel is reduced. The version to avoid is ri-KORD for the noun, so “a world record” sounds like an instruction.

    Say “record” in 3 steps

    1. 1Noun: REK-ord — a record, a recording, a personal best.
    2. 2Verb: ri-KORD — to record something. The first syllable reduces almost to nothing.
    3. 3Practise the contrast directly: “I want to ri-KORD a new REK-ord.”

    The version to avoid

    Commonly said as: ri-KORD for the noun, so “a world record” sounds like an instruction

    Both forms are extremely common in everyday speech, and the vowel changes as well as the stress: the noun's second vowel is full, the verb's first vowel is reduced.

    “record” as a verb

    Used when record means to capture sound, video or information.

    ri-KORD

    rɪˈkɔːd · stress on “KORD”

    riKORD

    Hear real people say it

    Model audio is consistent; real speech is not. Hearing several actual speakers is what makes a word recognisable when someone says it at full speed.

    Real speakers

    No free human recording of “record” exists yet in the public archives we draw on, so the audio above is our model voice. It is accurate for this word — a human clip would simply add natural variation on top.

    Practise it out loud

    Reading about a sound does not change your mouth. Say it, hear it back, and fix one thing at a time.

    Say it yourself

    0/6 practised

    Listen first, then record. You get feedback on the individual sounds, the stress and the rhythm — no account needed, and nothing is stored.

    Three speakers per accent

    Recordings are used only to generate this feedback and are not stored. Your accent is never penalised: IELTS scores intelligibility, and so do we.

    The sounds inside this word

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    More words that change with stress

    Same pattern, same fix. Learning them as a group is far faster than one at a time.

    Frequently asked questions

    How do you pronounce record?
    record is pronounced REK-ord, written /ˈrekɔːd/ in IPA. Noun: REK-ord — a record, a recording, a personal best.
    How many syllables are in record?
    two: REK-ord. The stress falls on “REK”.
    What is the most common mistake with record?
    ri-KORD for the noun, so “a world record” sounds like an instruction. Both forms are extremely common in everyday speech, and the vowel changes as well as the stress: the noun's second vowel is full, the verb's first vowel is reduced.
    Does record change as a verb?
    Yes. Used when record means to capture sound, video or information. That form is pronounced ri-KORD, /rɪˈkɔːd/ in IPA.

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