m/m/
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How to pronounce meteor in American English
MEE·tee·or
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Americans pronounce meteor as MEE-tee-or (/ˈmiɾiɔr/). In "meteor", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, and it's why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as MEE·tee·or. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "He observed the meteor shower through his backyard telescope".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "meteor".
3 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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.
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "meteor", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
MEE-tee-or→MEE·tee·or
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch MEE — keep everything else short and quick.
mee·TEE·OR→MEE·tee·or
03
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 is "meteor" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "MEE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "MEE-tee-or" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "meteor"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "meteor" sounds closer to "MEE-tee-or" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
How do I pronounce the R in "meteor"?
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 "meteor" 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 "MEE-tee-or" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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