How to pronounce spaced in American English
SPAYST
Start here
Americans pronounce spaced as SPAYST (/speɪst/).
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "spaced" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Why it sounds different
Why "spaced" sounds like SPAYST.
The "" at the end of "" is dropped before the consonant starting "" — the surrounding consonants flow directly together — common in flowing natural speech; in careful or formal speech, the sound is often kept. This is called the Silent T/D Across Words, a connected-speech trick that makes phrases flow. It comes out as SPAYST.
In real conversation
Hear "spaced" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He uses spaced repetition to retain information more effectively."
hee YOO·zuhz SPAYST reh·puh·TIH·shuhn tuh ruh·TAYN ihn·fer·MAY·shuhn MOR uh·FEHK·tuhv·lee
"She uses a spaced repetition system to review what she has learned."
shee YOO·zuhz uh SPAYST reh·puh·TIH·shuhn SIH·stuhm tuh ruh·VYOO wuht shee huhz LURND
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "spaced" 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 "SPAYST" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "spaced". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.