d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
How to pronounce deadline in American English
DEHD·lahyn
Start here
Americans pronounce deadline as DEHD-lahyn (/ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The project deadline is next Friday" or "When is the deadline for this application?" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "deadline".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
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.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
In real conversation
Hear "deadline" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He proposed a motion to extend the deadline by two weeks."
hee pruh·POHZD uh MOH·shuhn tuh uhk·STEHND dhuh DEHD·lahyn bahy TOO WEEKS
"He submitted the assignment just before the midnight deadline."
hee suhb·MIH·duhd dhee uh·SAHYN·muhnt juhst buh·FOR dhuh MIHD·nahyt DEHD·lahyn
"I need to file my tax return before the April deadline."
ahy NEED tuh FAHYL mahy TAKS ruh·TURN buh·FOR dhee AY·pruhl DEHD·lahyn
"I regret to inform you that we cannot meet the original deadline."
ahy ruh·GREHT tuh uhn·FORM yoo dhuht wee KA·naht MEET dhee uh·RIH·juh·nuhl DEHD·lahyn
"I suggest we divide the tasks among team members to meet the deadline."
ahy suhg·JEHST wee duh·VAHYD dhuh TASKS uh·MUHNG TEEM MEHM·berz tuh MEET dhuh DEHD·lahyn
"The project deadline is next Friday."
dhuh PRAH·jehkt DEHD·lahyn ihz NEHKST FRAHY·day
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "deadline", the "d" 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.
deadline→DEHD·LAHYN
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch DEHD — keep everything else short and quick.
dehd·LAHYN→DEHD·LAHYN
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "deadline" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "DEHD" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "DEHD-lahyn" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "deadline" 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 "DEHD-lahyn" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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