How to pronounce sear in American English

IPA /sɪr/ Syllables 1 · seer Stress 1st syllable

SEER

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Americans pronounce sear as SEER (/sɪr/). You'll hear it in sentences like "He used a cast iron skillet to get a nice sear on the meat".

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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

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "sear".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

eer/ɪr/

Start with the high 'ih' position. Pull the tongue back and up while flaring the lips slightly.

In real conversation

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"He used a cast iron skillet to get a nice sear on the meat."

hee YOOZD uh KAST AHY·ern SKIH·luht tuh GEHT uh NAHYS SEER ahn dhuh meet

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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.

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.

… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How do I pronounce the R in "sear"?

Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.

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

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Every sound in "sear".

Hear "sear" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Questions people ask about this.

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