How to pronounce experiment in American English

IPA /ɪkˈspɛrəmənt/ Syllables 4 · ihk·speh·ruh·muhnt Stress 2nd syllable

ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt

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Americans pronounce experiment as ihk-SPEH-ruh-muhnt (/ɪkˈspɛrəmənt/). The unstressed syllable reduces to a lazy schwa — almost a quick "uh" — instead of being pronounced fully. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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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

Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.

In "experiment", the short unstressed vowel before "" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch SPEH — keep everything else short and quick.

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Why it sounds different

Why "experiment" sounds like ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt.

In "experiment", the short unstressed vowel before "" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. This is called the Silent Schwa Before L/M/N/R, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt.

In real conversation

Hear "experiment" in the wild.

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

"He will conduct an experiment in the lab."

hee wihl kuhn·DUHKT uhn ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt ihn dhuh LAB

"The experiment demonstrated the principles of thermodynamics."

dhee ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt DEH·muhn·stray·duhd dhuh PRIHN·suh·puhlz uhv thur·moh·dahy·NA·muhks

"The experiment failed to produce the expected results."

dhee ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt FAYLD tuh pruh·DOOS dhee uhk·spehk·tuhd ruh·ZUHLTS

"The results of the experiment exceeded our initial expectations."

dhuh ruh·ZUHLTS uhv dhee ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt ihk·SEE·duhd owr ih·NIH·shuhl ehk·spehk·TAY·shuhnz

"The methodology section describes how the experiment was performed."

dhuh meh·thuh·DAH·luh·jee SEHK·shuhn duh·SKRAHYBZ HOW dhee ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt wuhz per·FORMD

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.

experiment→ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch SPEH — keep everything else short and quick.

IHK·speh·RUH·MUHNT→ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt

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.

ihk·SPEH·RUH·muhnt→ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "experiment" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the second syllable — say "SPEH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ihk-SPEH-ruh-muhnt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

Why does the third syllable in "experiment" 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 "ihk-SPEH-ruh-muhnt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.

Is the American pronunciation of "experiment" 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 "ihk-SPEH-ruh-muhnt" 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

Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Why "experiment" sounds like ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt.

Hear "experiment" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.

Questions people ask about this.

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