uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce equipment in American English
uh·KWIHP·muhnt
Start here
Americans pronounce equipment as uh-KWIHP-muhnt (/əˈkwɪpmənt/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "He cleaned his equipment after the muddy game" or "He updated the risk assessment after the new equipment was installed" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "equipment".
3 syllables, 9 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then 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.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "equipment" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He cleaned his equipment after the muddy game."
hee KLEEND hihz uh·KWIHP·muhnt AF·ter dhuh MUH·dee GAYM
"He updated the risk assessment after the new equipment was installed."
hee uhp·DAY·duhd dhuh RIHSK uh·SEH·smuhnt AF·ter dhuh noo uh·KWIHP·muhnt wuhz uhn·STAHLD
"He wore the required protective equipment while operating the machinery."
hee WOR dhuh ruh·KWAHY·erd pruh·TEHK·tuhv uh·KWIHP·muhnt WAHYL AH·puh·ray·duhng dhuh muh·SHEE·ner·ee
"Personal protective equipment must be worn at all times in this area."
PUR·suh·nuhl pruh·TEHK·tuhv uh·KWIHP·muhnt muhst bee WORN uht AHL TAHYMZ ihn dhihs AIR·ee·uh
"She ensured that all safety equipment was properly maintained and inspected."
shee ehn·SHUURD dhuht AHL SAYF·tee uh·KWIHP·muhnt wuhz PRAH·per·lee mayn·TAYND and uhn·SPEHK·tuhd
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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 "equipment", the "t" 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.
equipment→uh·KWIHP·muhnt
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "equipment", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
equipment→uh·KWIHP·muhnt
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KWIHP — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·kwihp·MUHNT→uh·KWIHP·muhnt
04
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
UH·KWIHP·muhnt→uh·KWIHP·muhnt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "equipment" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KWIHP" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-KWIHP-muhnt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "equipment" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "uh-KWIHP-muhnt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "equipment" 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 "uh-KWIHP-muhnt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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