How to pronounce placenta
Say it like pluh-SEN-tuh. Placenta has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the second one (SEN).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce placenta. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- pluh
- SEN
- tuh
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Placenta pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- pluhKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the relaxed "uh" in about.
- SENSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "e" in bed.
- tuhKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the relaxed "uh" in about.
American vs British pronunciation of placenta
American and British speakers say placenta in essentially the same way: /pləˈsɛntə/ in the US and /pləˈsɛntə/ in the UK.
British respelling: pluh-SEN-tuh.
What does placenta mean?
- An organ in most mammals during gestation that supplies food and oxygen to the fetus and passes back waste. It is on the wall of the uterus and links to the fetus through the umbilical cord. It is expelled after birth.
- In flowering plants, the part of the ovary where ovules develop; in non-flowering plants where the spores develop.
Where does placenta come from?
Learned borrowing from New Latin placenta (literally “flat cake”), an ellipsis of phrases such as placenta uterī (literally “womb cake”) and placenta uterīna (literally “uterine cake”), because of the flat round shape of the afterbirth.
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with placenta
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of placenta.
Questions about saying placenta
How do you pronounce placenta?
Say pluh-SEN-tuh. The American pronunciation is /pləˈsɛntə/. In British English it is /pləˈsɛntə/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in placenta?
Placenta has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the second one (SEN). Broken into parts: pluh · SEN · tuh.
Do Americans and Brits say placenta the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /pləˈsɛntə/ and the British form is /pləˈsɛntə/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.