How to pronounce arrests in American English

IPA /əˈrɛsts/ Syllables 2 · uh·rehsts Stress 2nd syllable

uh·REHSTS

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Americans pronounce arrests as uh-REHSTS (/əˈrɛsts/). The T drops out of the cluster entirely in casual American speech. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the T in a consonant cluster.

In "arrests", the "t" is squeezed between other consonants and drops out — the surrounding consonants flow together without it — most natural in flowing, casual speech; in careful or formal speech, the T may be lightly present. /t/ is dropped entirely — the surrounding consonants flow together without the T.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch REHSTS — keep everything else short and quick.

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Why it sounds different

Why "arrests" sounds like uh·REHSTS.

In "arrests", the "t" is squeezed between other consonants and drops out — the surrounding consonants flow together without it — most natural in flowing, casual speech; in careful or formal speech, the T may be lightly present. This is called the Silent T in Clusters, and it's why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as uh·REHSTS.

In real conversation

Hear "arrests" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made."

dhee uhn·veh·stuh·GAY·shuhn ihz AHN·goh·uhng and NOH uh·REHSTS huhv bihn MAYD

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Pronouncing the T in a consonant cluster.

arrests→uh·REHSTS

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch REHSTS — keep everything else short and quick.

UH·rehsts→uh·REHSTS

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·REHSTS→uh·REHSTS

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "arrests" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the second syllable — say "REHSTS" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-REHSTS" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

Why does the first syllable in "arrests" 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-REHSTS" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.

Is the American pronunciation of "arrests" 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-REHSTS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the T in a consonant cluster.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Why "arrests" sounds like uh·REHSTS.

Hear "arrests" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Pronouncing the T in a consonant cluster.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.

Questions people ask about this.

Stop reading about "arrests". Start saying it.