How to pronounce cut in American English

IPA /kʌt/ Syllables 1 · kuht Stress 1st syllable

KUHT

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Americans pronounce cut as KUHT (/kʌt/).

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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 "cut", 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 "cut" sounds like KUHT.

In "cut", 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 one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as KUHT.

In real conversation

Hear "cut" in the wild.

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

"Cut the bun."

KUHT dhuh BUHN

"I'm trying to cut down on coffee."

ahym TRAHY·uhng tuh KUHT DOWN ahn KAH·fee

"She cut the apple right down the middle."

shee KUHT dhee A·puhl RAHYT DOWN dhuh MIH·duhl

"The butcher recommended this cut of meat for the recipe."

dhuh BUU·cher reh·kuh·MEHN·duhd dhihs KUHT uhv meet fer dhuh REH·suh·pee

"The budget for the construction was suddenly cut."

dhuh BUH·juht fer dhuh kuhn·STRUHK·shuhn wuhz SUH·duhn·lee KUHT

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 "cut", 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.

cut→KUHT

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "cut" 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 "KUHT" 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 "cut" sounds like KUHT.

Hear "cut" 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.

Stop reading about "cut". Start saying it.