How to pronounce rebuild in American English

IPA /riˈbɪld/ Syllables 2 · ree·bihld Stress 2nd syllable
ree·BIHLD
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Americans pronounce rebuild as ree-BIHLD (/riˈbɪld/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds
75%
Clarity
68%
Stress
78%
Intonation
65%
Fluency
62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Treating every L the same.

The L in "rebuild" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch BIHLD — keep everything else short and quick.

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Why it sounds different

Why "rebuild" sounds like ree·BIHLD.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, the way sentences stop sounding like a list and start sounding like speech. It comes out as ree·BIHLD.

In real conversation

Hear "rebuild" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"She served her time and is now trying to rebuild her life."
shee SURVD her TAHYM and ihz NOW TRAHY·uhng tuh ree·BIHLD her LAHYF
Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

01

Treating every L the same.

The L in "rebuild" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

rebuildree·BIHLD
02

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch BIHLD — keep everything else short and quick.

REE·bihldree·BIHLD
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "rebuild" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "BIHLD" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ree-BIHLD" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "rebuild" 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 "ree-BIHLD" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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