s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
How to pronounce security in American English
suh·KYUUR·uh·tee
Start here
Americans pronounce security as suh-KYUUR-uh-tee (/səˈkjʊrəɾi/). In "security", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as suh·KYUUR·uh·tee. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "It's an automatic security system" or "This is a matter of national security" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "security".
4 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
y/j/
Lift the middle of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth, but stop just short of touching. /j/ is an approximant, not a stop. The tongue tip stays down, lightly resting near the back of your bottom front teeth. Voice runs through the whole gesture, and the tongue glides smoothly down into the next vowel. The lips stay neutral or pre-shape for the upcoming vowel (rounding early for OO in <em>youth</em>, for example).
uur/ʊr/
Start with the 'uu' position. Pull the tongue back and up while maintaining the lip flare.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "security" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Cross-border cooperation has improved security significantly."
KRAHS BOR·der koh·ah·puh·RAY·shuhn huhz uhm·PROOVD suh·KYUUR·uh·dee suhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt·lee
"He checked the security cameras to identify the perpetrator."
hee CHEHKT dhuh suh·KYUUR·uh·dee KA·muh·ruhz too ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy dhuh PUR·puh·tray·der
"It's an automatic security system."
ihts uhn ah·tuh·MA·tuhk suh·KYUUR·uh·dee SIH·stuhm
"The new software update addresses several critical security vulnerabilities."
dhuh noo SAHFT·wair UHP·dayt uh·DREH·suhz SEH·ver·uhl KRIH·duh·kuhl suh·KYUUR·uh·dee vuhl·ner·uh·BIH·luh·teez
"This is a matter of national security."
dhihs ihz uh MA·der uhv NA·shuh·nuhl suh·KYUUR·uh·dee
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "security", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
suh-KYUUR-uh-tee→suh·KYUUR·uh·tee
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KYUUR — keep everything else short and quick.
SUH·kyuur·UH·TEE→suh·KYUUR·uh·tee
03
Pronouncing the first 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.
SUH·KYUUR·uh·tee→suh·KYUUR·uh·tee
04
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 is "security" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KYUUR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "suh-KYUUR-uh-tee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "security"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "security" sounds closer to "suh-KYUUR-uh-tee" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the first syllable in "security" 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 "suh-KYUUR-uh-tee" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "security"?
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.
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