How to pronounce zip
Say it like ZIP. Zip 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 zip. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- ZIP
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Zip pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- ZIPSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in sit.
American vs British pronunciation of zip
American and British speakers say zip in essentially the same way: /zɪp/ in the US and /zɪp/ in the UK.
British respelling: ZIP.
What does zip mean?
- close with a zipper“Zip up your jacket--it's cold”
- move very fast“The runner zipped past us at breakneck speed”
- a quantity of no importance“it looked like nothing I had ever seen before”“reduced to nil all the work we had done”
- a code of letters and digits added to a postal address to aid in the sorting of mail
- forceful exertion“he plays tennis with great energy”“he's full of zip”
Where does zip come from?
Onomatopoeic.
Words that rhyme with zip
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of zip.
Questions about saying zip
How do you pronounce zip?
Say ZIP. The American pronunciation is /zɪp/. In British English it is /zɪp/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in zip?
Zip is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: ZIP.
Do Americans and Brits say zip the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /zɪp/ and the British form is /zɪp/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.