How to pronounce rush in American English

IPA /rʌʃ/ Syllables 1 · ruhsh Stress 1st syllable

RUHSH

Start here

Americans pronounce rush as RUHSH (/rʌʃ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Traffic is terrible during rush hour" or "Rush to finish the mesh before the flash" — more examples below.

Now you try.

Record yourself saying "rush" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.

Ready when you are

Tap the mic to start

Preview your accent profile

Get your accent profile and 5-axes assessment.

Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Unlock the full report in the app

Sound by sound

Every sound in "rush".

1 syllable, 3 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.

sh/ʃ/

Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.

In real conversation

Hear "rush" in the wild.

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

"He felt a rush of adrenaline before stepping onto the stage."

hee FEHLT uh RUHSH uhv uh·DREH·nuh·leen buh·FOR STEH·puhng AHN·too dhuh STAYJ

"Rush to finish the mesh before the flash."

RUHSH tuh FIH·nuhsh dhuh MEHSH buh·FOR dhuh FLASH

"She packs her lunch the night before to avoid the morning rush."

shee PAKS her LUHNCH dhuh NAHYT buh·FOR too uh·VOYD dhuh MOR·nuhng RUHSH

"Traffic is terrible during rush hour."

TRA·fuhk ihz TEH·ruh·buhl DUUR·uhng RUHSH OWR

Find another

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Search the entire library

Press / anywhere to focus the search box.

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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