How to pronounce steal
Say it like STEEL. Steal 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 steal. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- STEEL
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Steal pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- STEELSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
American vs British pronunciation of steal
American and British speakers say steal in essentially the same way: /stil/ in the US and /stiːl/ in the UK.
British respelling: STEEL.
What does steal mean?
- take without the owner's consent“Someone stole my wallet on the train”“This author stole entire paragraphs from my dissertation”
- move stealthily“The ship slipped away in the darkness”
- steal a base
- an advantageous purchase“she got a bargain at the auction”“the stock was a real buy at that price”
- a stolen base; an instance in which a base runner advances safely during the delivery of a pitch (without the help of a hit or walk or passed ball or wild pitch)
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with steal
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of steal.
Words that sound like steal
Questions about saying steal
How do you pronounce steal?
Say STEEL. The American pronunciation is /stil/. In British English it is /stiːl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in steal?
Steal is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: STEEL.
Do Americans and Brits say steal the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /stil/ and the British form is /stiːl/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.
What words sound the same as steal?
Steal sounds the same as steel in American English. The spelling and meaning are what tell them apart.