How to pronounce out
Say it like OWT. Out 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 out. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- OWT
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Out pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- OWTSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ow" in now.
American vs British pronunciation of out
American and British speakers say out in essentially the same way: /aʊt/ in the US and /aʊt/ in the UK.
British respelling: OWT.
What does out mean?
- not allowed to continue to bat or run“he was tagged out at second on a close play”“he fanned out”
- being out or having grown cold“threw his extinct cigarette into the stream”“the fire is out”
- not worth considering as a possibility“a picnic is out because of the weather”
- away from home“they went out last night”
- moving or appearing to move away from a place, especially one that is enclosed or hidden“the cat came out from under the bed”
- from one's possession“he gave out money to the poor”“gave away the tickets”
- (baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball“you only get 3 outs per inning”
Where does out come from?
Cognate with Scots oot (“out”), Yola out, outh, udh, ut, uth (“out”), North Frisian üt, ütj (“out”), Saterland Frisian uut (“out of”), West Frisian út (“out”), Cimbrian aus, auz (“out, outwards”), Dutch uit (“out”), German and Luxembourgish
Similar and opposite words
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with out
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of out.
Questions about saying out
How do you pronounce out?
Say OWT. The American pronunciation is /aʊt/. In British English it is /aʊt/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in out?
Out is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: OWT.
Do Americans and Brits say out the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /aʊt/ and the British form is /aʊt/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.