English pronunciation · Words Starting with A
Automobile Pronunciation
Automobile is pronounced AW-tuh-moh-beel, IPA /ˈɔtəmoʊˌbil/.
AW-tuh-moh-beel
US /ˈɔtəmoʊˌbil/ · UK /ˈɔːtəməˌbiəl/
Syllables: AW · tuh · moh · beel (4 syllables, stress on syllable 1)
noun: A car, in formal or technical American usage.
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Two Ways to Say Automobile
The pronunciation changes with the meaning or the part of speech. The form above is the most common; the others are:
- with the beat on the last syllable: /ˌɔtəmoʊˈbil/ (aw-tuh-moh-BEEL)
Automobile in a Sentence
- The automobile changed how American cities were built.
- He worked in the automobile industry for thirty years.
- Automobile registrations fell for a third quarter.
Common Mispronunciations of Automobile
Not aw-TOM-uh-beel
No syllable in the middle takes the weight. The strong beat goes either to the first or to the last, never to the second.
Not aw-toh-moh-BY-luh
The -bile ending is a plain beel. The Italian and Spanish spellings are close cousins but they do not share this ending.
Tip: Both AW-tuh-moh-beel and aw-tuh-moh-BEEL are standard. The first is more common in speech, the second in careful reading.
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