uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce addresses in American English
uh·DREH·suhz
Start here
Americans pronounce addresses as uh-DREH-suhz (/əˈdrɛsəz/). In "addresses", the "dr" cluster blends into a "jr" sound — a natural American English pronunciation. This is called the DR Sounds Like JR, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as uh·DREH·suhz. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The proposal addresses most of our concerns regarding pricing" or "Allow me to demonstrate how this solution addresses your concerns" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "addresses".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
d/d/
PalatalizedTongue pulls back slightly from the D position, blending into R. Sounds close to 'jr'.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "addresses" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Allow me to demonstrate how this solution addresses your concerns."
uh·LOW mee tuh DEH·muhn·strayt HOW dhihs suh·LOO·shuhn uh·DREH·suhz yer kuhn·SURNZ
"The new software update addresses several critical security vulnerabilities."
dhuh noo SAHFT·wair UHP·dayt uh·DREH·suhz SEH·ver·uhl KRIH·duh·kuhl suh·KYUUR·uh·dee vuhl·ner·uh·BIH·luh·teez
"The proposal addresses most of our concerns regarding pricing."
dhuh pruh·POH·zuhl uh·DREH·suhz MOHST uhv owr kuhn·SURNZ ruh·GAR·duhng PRAHY·suhng
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Saying a clean "dr" instead of a "j" sound.
In "addresses", the "dr" cluster blends into a "jr" sound — a natural American English pronunciation. /d/ shifts toward /dʒ/ ("j"), so DR sounds like "jr".
uh-DREH-suhz→uh·DREH·suhz
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch DREH — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·dreh·SUHZ→uh·DREH·suhz
03
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
UH·DREH·suhz→uh·DREH·suhz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "addresses" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "DREH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-DREH-suhz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "addresses" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "uh-DREH-suhz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "addresses" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "uh-DREH-suhz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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