English Word Stress

A free tool that marks word stress in English text. It highlights the stressed syllable, breaks each word into syllables with its IPA transcription, and tells a noun from a verb for stress pairs such as REcord and reCORD — handy for learners, teachers, actors and anyone working on pronunciation.

How to use

Paste your text

Type or paste any English word, sentence or paragraph into the box.

Click “Show stress”

Each word is split into syllables and the stressed one is highlighted, with IPA underneath.

Check heteronyms

Words like “record” show a noun/verb badge — the reading is picked from context, and you can tap it to switch.

Copy or listen

Copy the result with the stressed syllable in CAPITALS, or tap any word to hear it spoken.

Find the stressed syllable in any English word

Your text

Show IPA

Stressed text

Your text with stress marks will appear here

Words

Heteronyms

Approximate

Aaprimary stress Aasecondary stress heteronym — tap to switch approximate (not in dictionary)

Features

The stressed syllable is highlighted in every word, with primary and secondary stress shown separately. Noun/verb stress pairs (REcord / reCORD, PREsent / preSENT, OBject / obJECT) are resolved automatically from the surrounding words — no other tool does this. IPA transcription and a clear syllable breakdown for each word. Tap any word to hear it, or play the whole text aloud. Stress for 126,000+ words from the CMU dictionary; words not listed are estimated with English stress rules and marked ≈. Works on a single word or a whole text, right in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

How is the word stress decided?

From the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary — 126,000+ English words with their stress marked. For a word that is not listed (a name or a rare term), English suffix rules estimate where the stress falls, and the word is marked with ≈. All processing runs in your browser.

How does it handle words like “record” or “present”?

These are heteronyms: the noun stresses the first syllable (REcord) and the verb stresses the second (reCORD). The tool reads the surrounding words to pick the right one — “a record” → noun, “to record” → verb — and shows a noun/verb badge. If the context is unclear it highlights the word so you can tap and choose.

What do the marks mean?

The bold, coloured syllable carries the primary stress; a lighter bold syllable is the secondary stress. A dotted underline marks a heteronym you can switch, and a dashed underline with ≈ marks a word estimated from spelling rather than the dictionary.

Does it show IPA and audio?

Yes. Each word gets its IPA transcription (you can hide it with the “Show IPA” switch), and tapping a word plays it with your device’s built-in voice.

Who is this for?

English learners and teachers, actors and presenters, voice-over artists, and anyone who wants to know exactly which syllable to stress.

💡 Want us to improve this tool just for you?

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Who is this tool for?

🎓 Students 📚 Educators & Teachers 🗣️ Language Learners

Published 14 Jun 2026