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 industry in American English
IHN·duh·stree
Start here
Americans pronounce industry as IHN-duh-stree (/ˈɪndəstri/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I am excited to share our vision for the future of this industry" or "The research has potential applications in medicine and industry" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "industry".
3 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
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.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "industry" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I am excited to share our vision for the future of this industry."
ahy uhm uhk·SAHY·duhd tuh SHAIR owr VIH·zhuhn fer dhuh FYOO·cher uhv dhihs IHN·duh·stree
"Streaming services have disrupted the traditional entertainment industry."
STREE·muhng SUR·vuh·suhz huhv duhs·RUHP·tuhd dhuh truh·DIH·shuh·nuhl ehn·ter·TAYN·muhnt IHN·duh·stree
"The government announced ambitious sustainability targets for industry."
dhuh GUH·vern·muhnt uh·NOWNST am·BIH·shuhs suh·stay·nuh·BIH·luh·tee TAR·guhts fer IHN·duh·stree
"The research has potential applications in medicine and industry."
dhuh REE·surch huhz puh·TEHN·shuhl a·pluh·KAY·shuhnz ihn MEH·duh·suhn and IHN·duh·stree
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch IHN — keep everything else short and quick.
ihn·DUH·STREE→IHN·duh·stree
02
Pronouncing the unstressed 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.
IHN·DUH·stree→IHN·duh·stree
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "industry" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "IHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "IHN-duh-stree" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "industry" 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 "IHN-duh-stree" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "industry" 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 "IHN-duh-stree" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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