How to pronounce cast in American English

IPA /kæst/ Syllables 1 · kast Stress 1st syllable

KAST

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Americans pronounce cast as KAST (/kæst/). You'll hear it in sentences like "He used a cast iron skillet to get a nice sear on the meat".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "cast".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

k/k/

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

a/æ/

Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

t/t/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.

In real conversation

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"He used a cast iron skillet to get a nice sear on the meat."

hee YOOZD uh KAST AHY·ern SKIH·luht tuh GEHT uh NAHYS SEER ahn dhuh meet

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Questions

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