How to pronounce horse
Say it like HORS. Horse 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 horse. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- HORS
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Horse pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- HORSSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "aw" in law.
American vs British pronunciation of horse
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: HAWS.
What does horse mean?
- solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
- a padded gymnastic apparatus on legs
- troops trained to fight on horseback“500 horse led the attack”
- provide with a horse or horses
Where does horse come from?
Cognate with Scots horse (“horse”), West Frisian hoars (“horse”), Cimbrian ross (“horse”), Dutch hors, ros (“horse”), German Ross, Roß (“horse”), Danish and Norwegian Nynorsk hors (“horse, mare”), Faroese hors, ross (“horse”), Icelandic hro
Words that rhyme with horse
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of horse.
Words that sound like horse
Questions about saying horse
How do you pronounce horse?
Say HORS. The American pronunciation is /hɔrs/. In British English it is /hɔːs/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in horse?
Horse is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: HORS.
Is horse 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 /hɔːs/ (HAWS).
What words sound the same as horse?
Horse sounds the same as hoarse in American English. The spelling and meaning are what tell them apart.