ow/aʊ/
Start with a dropped jaw and flat tongue. Glide into a relaxed, slightly rounded lip position as the back of the tongue stretches up.
How to pronounce outstanding in American English
owt·STAN·duhng
Start here
Americans pronounce outstanding as owt-STAN-duhng (/ˌaʊtˈstændəŋ/). In "outstanding", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. This is called the Cat-Vowel Before M/N, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as OWT·STAN·duhng. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The character development in this series is outstanding" or "She received a full scholarship for her outstanding academic record" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "outstanding".
3 syllables, 9 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
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.
a/æ/
NasalizedThe tongue relaxes down in the back and the corners of the lips relax before the consonant. This adds a schwa-like 'uh' relaxation after the /æ/. Think of it as 'relaxing out of the vowel' — it is no longer a pure /æ/ sound.
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.
ng/ŋ/
Lift the back of your tongue to the soft palate. Lower your soft palate to let air flow through your nose.
In real conversation
Hear "outstanding" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"She received a full scholarship for her outstanding academic record."
shee ruh·SEEVD uh FUUL SKAH·ler·shihp fer her owt·STAN·duhng a·kuh·DEH·muhk REH·kerd
"The character development in this series is outstanding."
dhuh KEH·ruhk·ter duh·VEH·luhp·muhnt ihn dhihs SEER·eez uhz owt·STAN·duhng
"Your overall performance this year has been outstanding and noteworthy."
yor oh·vuh·AHL per·FOR·muhns dhihs YEER huhz bihn owt·STAN·duhng and NOHT·wur·dhee
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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
Pronouncing the vowel before M/N too pure.
In "outstanding", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. The "/æ/" vowel raises and fronts before M or N — tongue pulls up and forward, producing a tense [eə] glide (between /e/ and /ə/). Not a pure /æ/.
owt-STAN-duhng→OWT·STAN·duhng
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch STAN — keep everything else short and quick.
OWT·stan·DUHNG→OWT·STAN·duhng
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.
owt·STAN·DUHNG→OWT·STAN·duhng
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "outstanding" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "STAN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "owt-STAN-duhng" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the third syllable in "outstanding" 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 "owt-STAN-duhng" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "outstanding" 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 "owt-STAN-duhng" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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