Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

attention

/əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.11 in modern English

Syllables
at-ten-tion
IPA
/əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/
9
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Mental focus.

Uncountable

noun

A state of alertness in the standing position.

Uncountable

intj

Used as a command to bring soldiers to the attention position.

intj

A call for people to be quiet/stop doing what they are presently doing and pay heed to what they are to be told or shown.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *téndeti Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin attendō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin attentiōbor. Middle English attencioun English attention From Middle English attencioun, borrowed from Latin attentio, attentionis, from attendere, past participle attentus (“to attend, give heed to”); see attend. Equivalent to attend + -tion.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

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Questions

How do you pronounce attention?
The recorded pronunciation is /əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/.
What does attention mean?
Mental focus.
Where does attention come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce attention

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “attention”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “attention”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “attention” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.