How to pronounce buck in American English

IPA /bʌk/ Syllables 1 · buhk Stress 1st syllable

BUHK

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Americans pronounce buck as BUHK (/bʌk/). It's 3 sounds in 1 syllable. Ends in a crisp stop consonant — in casual speech the puff after it often disappears.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "buck".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

b/b/

Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.

uh/ʌ/

Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.

k/k/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.

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Questions

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