How to pronounce waist
Say it like WAYST. Waist 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 waist. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- WAYST
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Waist pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- WAYSTSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of waist
American and British speakers say waist in essentially the same way: /weɪst/ in the US and /weɪst/ in the UK.
British respelling: WAYST.
What does waist mean?
- the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
- the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole
Where does waist come from?
Inherited from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wǣst, *weaxt, *wæhst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (“growth, development, stature, build”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weks-
Words that rhyme with waist
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of waist.
Words that sound like waist
Questions about saying waist
How do you pronounce waist?
Say WAYST. The American pronunciation is /weɪst/. In British English it is /weɪst/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in waist?
Waist is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: WAYST.
Do Americans and Brits say waist the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /weɪst/ and the British form is /weɪst/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.
What words sound the same as waist?
Waist sounds the same as waste in American English. The spelling and meaning are what tell them apart.