How to pronounce quest
Say it like KWEST. Quest 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 quest. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- KWEST
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Quest pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- KWESTSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "e" in bed.
American vs British pronunciation of quest
American and British speakers say quest in essentially the same way: /kwɛst/ in the US and /kwɛst/ in the UK.
British respelling: KWEST.
What does quest mean?
- a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria“the pursuit of love”“life is more than the pursuance of fame”
- the act of searching for something“a quest for diamonds”
- make a search (for)“Things that die with their eyes open and questing”“The animal came questing through the forest”
- search the trail of (game)“The dog went off and quested”
- bark with prolonged noises, of dogs
Where does quest come from?
From Middle English quest, queste; partly from Anglo-Norman queste, Old French queste (“acquisition, search, hunt”), and partly from their source, Latin quaesta (“tribute, tax, inquiry, search”), noun use of quaesita, the feminine past part
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with quest
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of quest.
Questions about saying quest
How do you pronounce quest?
Say KWEST. The American pronunciation is /kwɛst/. In British English it is /kwɛst/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in quest?
Quest is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: KWEST.
Do Americans and Brits say quest the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /kwɛst/ and the British form is /kwɛst/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.