How to pronounce prune
Say it like PROON. Prune 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 prune. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- PROON
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Prune pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- PROONSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "oo" in food.
American vs British pronunciation of prune
American and British speakers say prune in essentially the same way: /prun/ in the US and /pruːn/ in the UK.
British respelling: PROON.
What does prune mean?
- The dried, wrinkled fruit of certain species of plum.
- Something wrinkly like a prune.
- An old woman, especially a wrinkly one.
- To become wrinkled like a dried plum, as the fingers and toes do when kept submerged in water.
- To remove excess material from a tree or shrub; to trim, especially to make more healthy or productive.“A good grape grower will prune the vines once a year.”
- To cut down or shorten (by the removal of unnecessary material).“to prune a budget, or an essay”
- To remove (something unnecessary) for the sake of cutting down or shortening that which it was previously part of.
Words that rhyme with prune
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of prune.
Questions about saying prune
How do you pronounce prune?
Say PROON. The American pronunciation is /prun/. In British English it is /pruːn/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in prune?
Prune is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: PROON.
Do Americans and Brits say prune the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /prun/ and the British form is /pruːn/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.