How to pronounce sent in American English

IPA /sɛnt/ Syllables 1 · sehnt Stress 1st syllable

SEHNT

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Americans pronounce sent as SEHNT (/sɛnt/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "sent", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

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Why it sounds different

Why "sent" sounds like SEHNT.

In "sent", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as SEHNT.

In real conversation

Hear "sent" in the wild.

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

"Did you get the email I sent this morning?"

dihd yoo GEHT dhee EE·mayl ahy SEHNT dhihs MOR·nuhng

"Did you get the message I sent?"

dihd yoo GEHT dhuh MEH·suhj ahy SEHNT

"Did you get the text message I sent?"

dihd yoo GEHT dhuh TEHKST MEH·suhj ahy SEHNT

"Every member of the senate sent a separate message."

EHV·ree MEHM·ber uhv dhuh SEH·nuht SEHNT uh SEH·per·uht MEH·suhj

"She sent me an email with all the details."

shee SEHNT mee uhn EE·mayl wihth AHL dhuh DEE·taylz

"She shouldn't have sent that email."

shee SHUU·duhnt huhv SEHNT dhat EE·mayl

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

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

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "sent", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

sent→SEHNT

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "sent" sounds like SEHNT.

Hear "sent" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

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