Heteronym
"Buffet" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say buh-FAY when it means a meal set out for self-service (noun), and BUF-it when it means to strike repeatedly (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
noun
buh-FAY
a meal set out for self-service
“We ate at the buffet.”
verb
BUF-it
to strike repeatedly
“Winds buffet the coast.”
Each button speaks the respelling, not the spelling — otherwise the speech engine would pick a single default pronunciation for both senses.
| Pronunciation | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| buh-FAY | noun | a meal set out for self-service |
| BUF-it | verb | to strike repeatedly |
"Buffet" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say buh-FAY when it means a meal set out for self-service (noun), and BUF-it when it means to strike repeatedly (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
Pronounced buh-FAY, "buffet" is a noun meaning a meal set out for self-service. For example: "We ate at the buffet."
Pronounced BUF-it, "buffet" is a verb meaning to strike repeatedly. For example: "Winds buffet the coast."
"Buffet" is a heteronym: two distinct words that happen to be spelled the same way. English spelling did not standardise around pronunciation, so unrelated words sometimes converged on one spelling while keeping separate sounds.
See the full entry for “buffet”, browse all 76 heteronyms and stress pairs, or learn how English stress works.