p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce practice in American English
PRAK·tuhs
Start here
Americans pronounce practice as PRAK-tuhs (/ˈpræktəs/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Singing in the choir takes a lot of practice" or "We started a garage band and practice every weekend" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "practice" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "practice".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
a/æ/
Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.
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.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
In real conversation
Hear "practice" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I developed better focus through regular mindfulness practice."
ahy duh·VEH·luhpt BEH·der FOH·kuhs throo REH·gyuh·ler MAHYND·fuhl·nuhs PRAK·tuhs
"I practice origami to relax and create beautiful paper shapes."
ahy PRAK·tuhs or·uh·GAH·mee tuh ruh·LAKS and kree·AYT BYOO·tuh·fuhl PAY·per SHAYPS
"I practice shadowing techniques to improve my intonation and rhythm."
ahy PRAK·tuhs SHA·doh·uhng tehk·NEEKS tuh uhm·PROOV mahy ihn·tuh·NAY·shuhn and RIH·dhuhm
"She felt confident after completing the practice tests at home."
shee FEHLT KAHN·fuh·duhnt AF·ter kuhm·PLEE·tuhng dhuh PRAK·tuhs TEHSTS uht HOHM
"Singing in the choir takes a lot of practice."
SIHNG·uhng ihn dhuh KWAHY·er TAYKS uh LAHT uhv PRAK·tuhs
"They practice passing drills every afternoon to improve coordination."
dhay PRAK·tuhs PA·suhng DRIHLZ EHV·ree af·ter·NOON tuh uhm·PROOV koh·or·duh·NAY·shuhn
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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 "practice", 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.
practice→PRAK·tuhs
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch PRAK — keep everything else short and quick.
prak·TUHS→PRAK·tuhs
03
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.
PRAK·TUHS→PRAK·tuhs
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "practice" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PRAK" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PRAK-tuhs" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "practice" 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 "PRAK-tuhs" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "practice" 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 "PRAK-tuhs" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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