How to pronounce runs in American English

IPA /rʌnz/ Syllables 1 · ruhnz Stress 1st syllable

RUHNZ

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Americans pronounce runs as RUHNZ (/rʌnz/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The river runs through the entire city" or "The red rose runs round the rugged rock" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "runs".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. 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.

uh/ʌ/

Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.

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.

z/z/

Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.

In real conversation

Hear "runs" in the wild.

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

"Catch the match before the snatch thief runs."

KACH dhuh MACH buh·FOR dhuh SNACH THEEF RUHNZ

"He works as a stage manager ensuring everything runs smoothly."

hee WURKS uhz uh STAYJ MA·nuh·jer uhn·SHUUR·uhng EHV·ree·thuhng RUHNZ SMOODH·lee

"I need to refill my prescription before it runs out."

ahy NEED tuh ree·FIHL mahy pruh·SKRIHP·shuhn buh·FOR iht RUHNZ OWT

"She is training for a marathon and runs twenty miles a week."

shee ihz TRAY·nuhng fer uh MEH·ruh·thahn and RUHNZ TWEHN·tee MAHYLZ uh WEEK

"She runs on the elliptical machine to reduce impact on her knees."

shee RUHNZ ahn dhee uh·LIHP·tuh·kuhl muh·SHEEN tuh ruh·DOOS IHM·pakt ahn her NEEZ

"The red rose runs round the rugged rock."

dhuh REHD ROHZ RUHNZ ROWND dhuh RUH·guhd RAHK

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Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "runs" 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 "RUHNZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.