How to pronounce graduate
Say it like GRAJ-uh-wut. Graduate has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (GRAJ).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce graduate. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- GRAJ
- uh
- wut
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Graduate pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- GRAJSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "a" in cat.
- uhKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the relaxed "uh" in about.
- wutKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the relaxed "uh" in about.
American vs British pronunciation of graduate
American and British speakers say graduate in essentially the same way: /ˈɡrædʒəwət/ in the US and /ˈɡrædjʊˌeɪt/ in the UK.
British respelling: GRAD-yuh-ayt.
What does graduate mean?
- receive an academic degree upon completion of one's studies“She graduated in 1990”
- confer an academic degree upon“This school graduates 2,000 students each year”
- make fine adjustments or divide into marked intervals for optimal measuring“calibrate an instrument”“graduate a cylinder”
- a person who has received a degree from a school (high school or college or university)
- a measuring instrument for measuring fluid volume; a glass container (cup or cylinder or flask) whose sides are marked with or divided into amounts
- of or relating to studies beyond a bachelor's degree“graduate courses”
Where does graduate come from?
From Middle English graduat(e) (“(noun) a graduate of a university; (adjective) graduate, having graduated”, also used as the past participle of graduaten (“to graduate”)), borrowed from Medieval Latin graduātus (“graduated, graduate”), per
Questions about saying graduate
How do you pronounce graduate?
Say GRAJ-uh-wut. The American pronunciation is /ˈɡrædʒəwət/. In British English it is /ˈɡrædjʊˌeɪt/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in graduate?
Graduate has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (GRAJ). Broken into parts: GRAJ · uh · wut.
Do Americans and Brits say graduate the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ˈɡrædʒəwət/ and the British form is /ˈɡrædjʊˌeɪt/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.