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 worldwide in American English
WURLD·wahyd
Start here
Americans pronounce worldwide as WURLD-wahyd (/ˈwɜrldˌwaɪd/). The L in "worldwide" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. This is called the Dark L vs Light L, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as WURLD·WAHYD. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The internet of things connects billions of devices worldwide" or "Racial justice movements have gained momentum worldwide recently" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "worldwide".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ur/ɜr/
Flare your lips and push them away from the face. Lift the middle of your tongue toward the roof of the mouth.
l/l/
DarkKeep the tongue tip down and pull the back of the tongue up toward the throat. The 'dark' sound comes from the back.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
In real conversation
Hear "worldwide" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Ocean pollution remains a critical environmental concern worldwide."
OH·shuhn puh·LOO·shuhn ruh·MAYNZ uh KRIH·duh·kuhl uhn·vahy·ruhn·MEHN·tuhl kuhn·SURN WURLD·wahyd
"Racial justice movements have gained momentum worldwide recently."
RAY·shuhl JUH·stuhs MOOV·muhnts hav GAYND moh·MEHN·tuhm WURLD·wahyd REE·suhnt·lee
"The internet of things connects billions of devices worldwide."
dhee IHN·ter·neht uhv THIHNGZ kuh·NEHKTS BIHL·yuhnz uhv duh·VAHY·suhz WURLD·wahyd
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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
Treating every L the same.
The L in "worldwide" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.
worldwide→WURLD·WAHYD
02
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "worldwide", the "d" 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.
worldwide→WURLD·WAHYD
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch WURLD — keep everything else short and quick.
wurld·WAHYD→WURLD·WAHYD
04
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 is "worldwide" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "WURLD" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "WURLD-wahyd" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "worldwide"?
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 "worldwide" 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 "WURLD-wahyd" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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