How to pronounce blood in American English

IPA /blʌd/ Syllables 1 · bluhd Stress 1st syllable

BLUHD

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Americans pronounce blood as BLUHD (/blʌd/).

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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

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "blood", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

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Why it sounds different

Why "blood" sounds like BLUHD.

In "blood", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as BLUHD.

In real conversation

Hear "blood" in the wild.

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"He donated blood to help those in need."

hee DOH·nay·tuhd BLUHD tuh HEHLP dhohz ihn NEED

"The circulatory system transports blood and oxygen throughout the body."

dhuh SUR·kyuh·luh·tor·ee SIH·stuhm tran·SPORTS BLUHD and AHK·suh·juhn throo·OWT dhuh BAH·dee

"The nurse took my blood pressure and recorded my temperature."

dhuh NURS TUUK mahy BLUHD PREH·sher and ruh·KOR·duhd mahy TEHM·pruh·cher

"He monitors vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure."

hee MAH·nuh·terz VAHY·duhl SAHYNZ suhch uhz HART RAYT and BLUHD PREH·sher

"The diagnosis was confirmed by a series of blood tests."

dhuh dahy·uhg·NOH·suhs wuhz kuhn·FURMD bahy uh SEER·eez uhv BLUHD TEHSTS

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

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

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "blood", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

blood→BLUHD

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "blood" sounds like BLUHD.

Hear "blood" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

Stop reading about "blood". Start saying it.