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.
How to pronounce exhibit in American English
ihg·ZIH·buht
Start here
Americans pronounce exhibit as ihg-ZIH-buht (/ɪgˈzɪbət/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The exhibit was marked and entered into evidence" or "I wish to visit the exhibit in the middle of spring" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "exhibit".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
g/g/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Add vocal cord vibration, then release.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
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.
b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
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 "exhibit" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I wish to visit the exhibit in the middle of spring."
ahy WIHSH tuh VIH·zuht dhee ihg·ZIH·buht ihn dhuh MIH·duhl uhv sprihng
"The exhibit showcases the evolution of modern art styles."
dhee ihg·ZIH·buht SHOH·kay·suhz dhee eh·vuh·LOO·shuhn uhv MAH·dern ART STAHYLZ
"The exhibit was marked and entered into evidence."
dhee ihg·ZIH·buht wuhz MARKT and EHN·terd IHN·too EH·vuh·duhns
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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 "exhibit", 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.
exhibit→ihg·ZIH·buht
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch ZIH — keep everything else short and quick.
IHG·zih·BUHT→ihg·ZIH·buht
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the second syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
ihg·ZIH·BUHT→ihg·ZIH·buht
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "exhibit" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "ZIH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ihg-ZIH-buht" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the third syllable in "exhibit" 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 "ihg-ZIH-buht" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "exhibit" 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 "ihg-ZIH-buht" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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