How to pronounce sleet
Say it like SLEET. Sleet 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 sleet. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SLEET
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Sleet pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SLEETSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
American vs British pronunciation of sleet
American and British speakers say sleet in essentially the same way: /slit/ in the US and /sliːt/ in the UK.
British respelling: SLEET.
What does sleet mean?
- Pellets of ice made of mostly-frozen raindrops or refrozen melted snowflakes.
- Precipitation in the form of a mixture of rain and snow.
- A smooth coating of ice formed on ground or other objects by freezing rain.
- To be in a state in which sleet is falling.“I won't bother going out until it's stopped sleeting.”
Where does sleet come from?
From Middle English slete, probably from Old English *slēte, *slȳte, *slīete, from Proto-West Germanic *slautijā, from Proto-Germanic *slautijǭ (“sleet”).
Words that rhyme with sleet
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of sleet.
Questions about saying sleet
How do you pronounce sleet?
Say SLEET. The American pronunciation is /slit/. In British English it is /sliːt/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in sleet?
Sleet is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SLEET.
Do Americans and Brits say sleet the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /slit/ and the British form is /sliːt/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.