How to pronounce berm
Say it like BURM. Berm is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce berm. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- BURM
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Berm pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- BURMSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ur" in nurse.
American vs British pronunciation of berm
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: BURM.
What does berm mean?
- A narrow ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.
- A raised bank or path, especially the bank of a canal opposite the towpath.
- One of the flat terraces on the slope of an open-pit mine.
- To provide something with a berm
Where does berm come from?
From Dutch berm (“strip of roadside grass, verge”), probably via French berme, from Middle Dutch barm, baerm, barem (“verge, bank”), from Old Dutch *barm, from Proto-West Germanic *barm, from Proto-Germanic *barmaz (“edge, border, seam”).
Words that rhyme with berm
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of berm.
Questions about saying berm
How do you pronounce berm?
Say BURM. The American pronunciation is /bɝm/. In British English it is /bɜːm/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in berm?
Berm is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: BURM.
Is berm pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /bɜːm/ (BURM).