How to pronounce stood in American English

IPA /stʊd/ Syllables 1 · stuud Stress 1st syllable

STUUD

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Americans pronounce stood as STUUD (/stʊd/).

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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 "stood", 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 "stood" sounds like STUUD.

In "stood", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, the kind of sound shift that makes everyday speech feel effortless. It comes out as STUUD.

In real conversation

Hear "stood" in the wild.

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

"He disputed the call but the referee stood firm."

hee duh·SPYOO·duhd dhuh KAHL buht dhuh reh·fuh·REE STUUD FURM

"He stood up and looked at the full moon."

hee STUUD UHP and LUUKT uht dhuh FUUL MOON

"She stood by the brook."

shee STUUD bahy dhuh BRUUK

"The judge entered the courtroom and everyone stood up."

dhuh JUHJ EHN·terd dhuh KORT·room and EHV·ree·wuhn STUUD UHP

"The tour group stood in the cool room."

dhuh TUUR GROOP STUUD ihn dhuh KOOL ROOM

"Someone stood on the wooden foot of the bed."

SUHM·wuhn STUUD ahn dhuh WUU·duhn FUUT uhv dhuh BEHD

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 "stood", 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.

stood→STUUD

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "stood" 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 "STUUD" 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 "stood" sounds like STUUD.

Hear "stood" 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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