w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
How to pronounce wore in American English
WOR
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Americans pronounce wore as WOR (/wɔr/). You'll hear it in sentences like "She wore a short dress" or "She wore a green striped dress" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "wore".
1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
In real conversation
Hear "wore" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He wore protective pads to prevent injury during the game."
hee WOR pruh·TEHK·tuhv PADZ tuh pruh·VEHNT IHN·juh·ree DUUR·uhng dhuh GAYM
"He wore the required protective equipment while operating the machinery."
hee WOR dhuh ruh·KWAHY·erd pruh·TEHK·tuhv uh·KWIHP·muhnt WAHYL AH·puh·ray·duhng dhuh muh·SHEE·ner·ee
"She wore a green striped dress."
shee WOR uh GREEN STRAHYPT DREHS
"She wore a short dress."
shee WOR uh SHORT DREHS
"She wore layers because the temperature fluctuates throughout the day."
shee WOR LAY·erz buh·KUHZ dhuh TEHM·pruh·cher FLUHK·choo·ayts throo·OWT dhuh DAY
"She wore safety goggles to protect her eyes from chemicals."
shee WOR SAYF·tee GAH·guhlz tuh pruh·TEHKT her AHYZ fruhm KEH·muh·kuhlz
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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
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 do I pronounce the R in "wore"?
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.
Is the American pronunciation of "wore" 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 "WOR" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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