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 outweigh in American English
owt·WAY
Start here
Americans pronounce outweigh as owt-WAY (/ˌaʊtˈweɪ/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I would argue that the benefits outweigh the potential risks".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "outweigh".
2 syllables, 4 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.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
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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 "outweigh", 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.
outweigh→OWT·WAY
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch WAY — keep everything else short and quick.
OWT·way→OWT·WAY
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "outweigh" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "WAY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "owt-WAY" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "outweigh" 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-WAY" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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