How to pronounce sluice
Say it like SLOOS. Sluice 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 sluice. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SLOOS
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Sluice pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SLOOSSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "oo" in food.
American vs British pronunciation of sluice
American and British speakers say sluice in essentially the same way: /slus/ in the US and /sluːs/ in the UK.
British respelling: SLOOS.
What does sluice mean?
- To emit by, or as by, flood gates.
- To wet copiously, as by opening a sluice
- To wash with, or in, a stream of water running through a sluice.“to sluice earth or gold dust in a sluice box in placer mining”
- An artificial passage for water, fitted with a valve or gate, for example in a canal lock or a mill stream, for stopping or regulating the flow.
- A water gate or floodgate.
- Hence, an opening or channel through which anything flows; a source of supply.
Where does sluice come from?
From Middle English sluse, alteration of scluse, from Anglo-Norman escluse (“sluice, floodgate”), from Late Latin exclusa (“extrusion, gate”), from Latin exclūsus, form of exclūdō (“to shut out, to exclude”) (English exclude).
Words that rhyme with sluice
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of sluice.
Questions about saying sluice
How do you pronounce sluice?
Say SLOOS. The American pronunciation is /slus/. In British English it is /sluːs/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in sluice?
Sluice is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SLOOS.
Do Americans and Brits say sluice the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /slus/ and the British form is /sluːs/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.