How to pronounce stay
Say it like STAY. Stay 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 stay. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- STAY
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Stay pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- STAYSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of stay
American and British speakers say stay in essentially the same way: /steɪ/ in the US and /steɪ/ in the UK.
British respelling: STAY.
What does stay mean?
- stay the same; remain in a certain state“The dress remained wet after repeated attempts to dry it”“rest assured”
- stay put (in a certain place)“We are staying in Detroit; we are not moving to Cincinnati”“Stay put in the corner here!”
- dwell“You can stay with me while you are in town”“stay a bit longer--the day is still young”
- continuing or remaining in a place or state“they had a nice stay in Paris”“a lengthy hospital stay”
- the state of inactivity following an interruption“the negotiations were in arrest”“held them in check”
- a judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted“the Supreme Court has the power to stay an injunction pending an appeal to the whole Court”
Where does stay come from?
An alternative etymology derives Old French estaye, estaie, from Frankish *stakā, *stakō (“stake, post”), from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake, bar, stick, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“rod, pole, stick”), making it cognate with
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with stay
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of stay.
Questions about saying stay
How do you pronounce stay?
Say STAY. The American pronunciation is /steɪ/. In British English it is /steɪ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in stay?
Stay is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: STAY.
Do Americans and Brits say stay the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /steɪ/ and the British form is /steɪ/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.