How to pronounce brought in American English

IPA /brɔt/ Syllables 1 · braht Stress 1st syllable

BRAHT

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Americans pronounce brought as BRAHT (/brɔt/).

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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 "brought", 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 "brought" sounds like BRAHT.

In "brought", 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 why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as BRAHT.

In real conversation

Hear "brought" in the wild.

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"Bob brought a bunch of balloons for the baby."

BAHB BRAHT uh BUHNCH uhv buh·LOONZ fer dhuh BAY·bee

"She brought up several important issues that had been overlooked."

shee BRAHT UHP SEH·ver·uhl uhm·POR·tuhnt IH·shooz dhuht huhd bihn oh·ver·LUUKT

"The ceremony was deeply moving and brought tears to many eyes."

dhuh SEH·ruh·moh·nee wuhz DEE·plee MOO·vuhng and BRAHT TEERZ tuh MEH·nee AHYZ

"The k-9 unit was brought in to search for drugs."

dhuh KAY NAHYN YOO·nuht wuhz BRAHT ihn tuh SURCH fer DRUHGZ

"The main suspect was brought in for questioning."

dhuh MAYN SUH·spehkt wuhz BRAHT ihn fer KWEHS·chuh·nuhng

"The summit brought together leaders from around the world."

dhuh SUH·muht BRAHT tuh·GEH·dher LEE·derz fruhm uh·ROWND dhuh WURLD

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 "brought", 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.

brought→BRAHT

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "brought" 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 "BRAHT" 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 "brought" sounds like BRAHT.

Hear "brought" 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.

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