How to pronounce cot in American English

IPA /kɑt/ Syllables 1 · kaht Stress 1st syllable

KAHT

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Americans pronounce cot as KAHT (/kɑt/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "cot", 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 "cot" sounds like KAHT.

In "cot", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as KAHT.

In real conversation

Hear "cot" in the wild.

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

"The police caught him sleeping on a cot."

dhuh puh·LEES KAHT hihm SLEE·puhng ahn uh KAHT

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 "cot", 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.

cot→KAHT

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "cot" 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 "KAHT" 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

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "cot" sounds like KAHT.

Hear "cot" 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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