How to pronounce crime in American English

IPA /kraɪm/ Syllables 1 · krahym Stress 1st syllable

KRAHYM

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Americans pronounce crime as KRAHYM (/kraɪm/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The police suspect he was involved in the crime" or "He was acquitted of the crime due to lack of evidence" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "crime".

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.

r/r/

Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.

ahy/aɪ/

Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.

m/m/

Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.

In real conversation

Hear "crime" in the wild.

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

"Detectives are investigating the crime scene for clues."

duh·TEHK·tuhvz er ihn·VEH·stuh·gay·duhng dhuh KRAHYM SEEN fer KLOOZ

"Double jeopardy prevents a person from being tried twice for the same crime."

DUH·buhl JEH·per·dee pruh·VEHNTS uh PUR·suhn fruhm BEE·uhng TRAHYD TWAHYS fer dhuh SAYM KRAHYM

"He was acquitted of the crime due to lack of evidence."

hee wuhz uh·KWIH·duhd uhv dhuh KRAHYM DOO tuh LAK uhv EH·vuh·duhns

"The plot revolves around a young detective solving a crime."

dhuh PLAHT ruh·VAHLVZ uh·ROWND uh YUHNG duh·TEHK·tuhv SAHL·vuhng uh KRAHYM

"The police suspect he was involved in the crime."

dhuh puh·LEES suh·SPEHKT hee wuhz uhn·VAHLVD ihn dhuh KRAHYM

"The detective gathered crucial evidence at the crime scene."

dhuh duh·TEHK·tuhv GA·dherd KROO·shuhl EH·vuh·duhns uht dhuh KRAHYM SEEN

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Questions

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