Heteronym
"Permit" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say PER-mit when it means an official license (noun), and per-MIT when it means to allow (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
noun
PER-mit
an official license
“You need a parking permit.”
verb
per-MIT
to allow
“They permit photos here.”
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PER-mit | noun | an official license |
| per-MIT | verb | to allow |
"Permit" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say PER-mit when it means an official license (noun), and per-MIT when it means to allow (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
Pronounced PER-mit, "permit" is a noun meaning an official license. For example: "You need a parking permit."
Pronounced per-MIT, "permit" is a verb meaning to allow. For example: "They permit photos here."
"Permit" 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 “permit”, browse all 76 heteronyms and stress pairs, or learn how English stress works.