How to pronounce lathe
Say it like LAYTH. Lathe 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 lathe. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- LAYTH
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Lathe pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- LAYTHSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of lathe
American and British speakers say lathe in essentially the same way: /leɪð/ in the US and /leɪð/ in the UK.
British respelling: LAYTH.
What does lathe mean?
- A machine tool used to shape a piece of material, or workpiece, by rotating the workpiece against a cutting tool.“He shaped the bedpost by turning it on a lathe.”
- The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft.
- To shape with a lathe.
- To produce a three-dimensional model by rotating a set of points around a fixed axis.
Where does lathe come from?
From Middle English lathe (“turning-lathe; stand”), from Old Norse hlað (“pile, heap”), compare dialectal Danish lad (“stand, support frame”) (as in drejelad (“turning-lathe”), savelad (“saw bench”)), dialectal Norwegian la, lad (“pile, smal
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with lathe
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of lathe.
Questions about saying lathe
How do you pronounce lathe?
Say LAYTH. The American pronunciation is /leɪð/. In British English it is /leɪð/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in lathe?
Lathe is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: LAYTH.
Do Americans and Brits say lathe the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /leɪð/ and the British form is /leɪð/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.