uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce objectives in American English
uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
Start here
Americans pronounce objectives as uhb-JEHK-tuhvz (/əbˈdʒɛktəvz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I am confident that this strategy will meet your objectives" or "We need to align our goals with the overall company objectives" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "objectives".
3 syllables, 9 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
j/dʒ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
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.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
v/v/
Lift your bottom lip so its inner edge (where the wet part meets the dry part) touches the very bottom of your top front teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you blow air through.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "objectives" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I am confident that this strategy will meet your objectives."
ahy uhm KAHN·fuh·duhnt dhuht dhihs STRA·tuh·jee wihl MEET yor uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
"Let's set some measurable objectives for the upcoming review period."
LEHTS SEHT suhm MEH·zhuh·ruh·buhl uhb·JEHK·tuhvz fer dhee UHP·kuh·muhng ruh·VYOO PEER·ee·uhd
"She facilitated the discussion and kept everyone focused on the objectives."
shee fuh·SIH·luh·tay·duhd dhuh duh·SKUH·shuhn and KEHPT EHV·ree·wuhn FOH·kuhst ahn dhee uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
"We need to align our goals with the overall company objectives."
wee NEED tuh uh·LAHYN ar GOHLZ wihth dhee oh·vuh·AHL KUHM·puh·nee uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
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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 "objectives", 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.
objectives→uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch JEHK — keep everything else short and quick.
UHB·jehk·TUHVZ→uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
03
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.
UHB·JEHK·tuhvz→uhb·JEHK·tuhvz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "objectives" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "JEHK" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uhb-JEHK-tuhvz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "objectives" 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 "uhb-JEHK-tuhvz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "objectives" 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 "uhb-JEHK-tuhvz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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