How to pronounce wax in American English

IPA /wæks/ Syllables 1 · waks Stress 1st syllable

WAKS

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Americans pronounce wax as WAKS (/wæks/). You'll hear it in sentences like "She makes scented candles using soy wax and essential oils".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "wax".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

w/w/

Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.

a/æ/

Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.

k/k/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.

s/s/

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

In real conversation

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"She makes scented candles using soy wax and essential oils."

shee MAYKS SEHN·tuhd KAN·duhlz YOO·zuhng SOY WAKS and uh·SEHN·shuhl OYLZ

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Questions

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