d/d/
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How to pronounce door in American English
DOR
Start here
Americans pronounce door as DOR (/dɔr/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Close the door" or "Secure the door" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "door".
1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
In real conversation
Hear "door" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Are you sure you locked the front door?"
ar yoo SHUUR yoo LAHKT dhuh FRUHNT DOR
"Close the door."
KLOHZ dhuh DOR
"Did you remember to lock the front door?"
dihd yoo ruh·MEHM·ber tuh LAHK dhuh FRUHNT DOR
"Don't forget to lock the door."
DOHNT fer·GEHT tuh LAHK dhuh DOR
"He laced up his running shoes and headed out not door."
hee LAYST UHP hihz RUH·nuhng SHOOZ and HEH·duhd OWT NAHT DOR
"I applied weatherstripping around the door to prevent drafts."
ahy uh·PLAHYD WEH·dher·strih·puhng uh·ROWND dhuh DOR tuh pruh·VEHNT DRAFTS
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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
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How do I pronounce the R in "door"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "door" 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 "DOR" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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