How to pronounce horsepower
Say it like HORS-pow-er. Horsepower has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (HORS).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce horsepower. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- HORS
- pow
- er
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Horsepower 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.
- powGive this part a little weight. The vowel is the "ow" in now.
- erKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "er" in butter.
American vs British pronunciation of horsepower
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: HAWS-pow-uh.
What does horsepower mean?
- Power derived from the motion of a horse.
- A nonmetric unit of power with various definitions, commonly the mechanical horsepower, approximately equal to 745.7 watts.
- Metric horsepower, a metric unit approximately equal to 735.5 watts.
Where does horsepower come from?
Both non-metric and metric units of power were derived from effectively identical measurements of the power a draught horse could sustain over several hours, with the difference in watts solely due to different rounding errors to express th
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
- hp
Questions about saying horsepower
How do you pronounce horsepower?
Say HORS-pow-er. The American pronunciation is /ˈhɔrsˌpaʊɚ/. In British English it is /ˈhɔːsˌpaʊə/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in horsepower?
Horsepower has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (HORS). Broken into parts: HORS · pow · er.
Is horsepower 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 /ˈhɔːsˌpaʊə/ (HAWS-pow-uh).