How to Pronounce World

To pronounce "world", say WORLD — one syllable, IPA /wɝld/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.

world

Tap to hear · American accent

Accent

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Speed

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Syllable

Letters

/wɝld/

IPA

"world" is a single-syllable word — say it in one clean beat. It rhymes with netherworld and hurled, if that helps it stick.

Sounds exactly like: whirled — easy to mix up when writing.

noun

(with "the") Human collective existence; existence in general.
“There will always be lovers, till the world’s end.”
The Universe.

verb

To consider or cause to be considered from a global perspective; to consider as a global whole, rather than making or focussing on national or other distinctions; compare globalise.
To make real; to make worldly.

Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.

Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.

How many syllables are in "world"?▾

"World" has one syllable.

What is the IPA transcription of "world"?▾

The IPA transcription of "world" is /wɝld/.

What does "world" mean?▾

World: (with "the") Human collective existence; existence in general.

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