How to pronounce spire
Say it like SPIRE. Spire 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 spire. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SPIRE
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Spire pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SPIRESay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in time.
American vs British pronunciation of spire
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: SPY.
What does spire mean?
- A young shoot of a plant; a spear.
- Any of various tall grasses, rushes, or sedges, such as the marram, the reed canary-grass, etc.
- A sharp or tapering point.
- One of the sinuous foldings of a serpent or other reptile; a coil.
- A spiral.
- The part of a spiral generated in one revolution of the straight line about the pole.
- to sprout, to send forth the early shoots of growth; to germinate.
- To grow upwards rather than develop horizontally.
- To furnish with a spire.
Where does spire come from?
From Middle English spire, spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr, from Proto-Germanic *spīrō, *spīrǭ (“peak; point; tip; stalk”).
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with spire
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of spire.
Questions about saying spire
How do you pronounce spire?
Say SPIRE. The American pronunciation is /spaɪr/. In British English it is /spaɪ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in spire?
Spire is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SPIRE.
Is spire pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /spaɪ/ (SPY).