How to pronounce shrub
Say it like SHRUHB. Shrub 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 shrub. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SHRUHB
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Shrub pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SHRUHBSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "u" in cup.
American vs British pronunciation of shrub
American and British speakers say shrub in essentially the same way: /ʃrʌb/ in the US and /ʃrʌb/ in the UK.
British respelling: SHRUHB.
What does shrub mean?
- A woody plant smaller than a tree, and usually with several stems from the same base.
- A liquor composed of vegetable acid, fruit juice (especially lemon), sugar, sometimes vinegar, and a small amount of spirit as a preservative. Modern shrub is usually non-alcoholic, but in earlier times it was often mixed with a substantial amount of spirit such as brandy or rum, thus making it a li
- To plant a shrub in a yard, garden, etc.; to prune a bush or other plant into a shrub.
Where does shrub come from?
From Middle English schrub, schrob, (also unassibilated as scrub), from Old English *sċrob (in placenames) and sċrybb (“a shrub; shrubbery; underbrush”); akin to Norwegian skrubbe (“the dwarf cornel tree”).
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with shrub
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of shrub.
Questions about saying shrub
How do you pronounce shrub?
Say SHRUHB. The American pronunciation is /ʃrʌb/. In British English it is /ʃrʌb/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in shrub?
Shrub is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SHRUHB.
Do Americans and Brits say shrub the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ʃrʌb/ and the British form is /ʃrʌb/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.