2 syllables: ap, pend. Stress on pend.
uh-PEND
/əˈpɛnd/
append is pronounced uh-PEND (/əˈpɛnd/). It has two syllables (ap-pend), with the stress on "pend". Append (verb) means to add something to the end or attach something to something else. It can also be a noun in computing contexts, referring to an item added to the end of a list or document. In everyday use, it signals a functional action of attachment or inclusion, often implying a formal or procedural tone.
Append (verb) means to add something to the end or attach something to something else. It can also be a noun in computing contexts, referring to an item added to the end of a list or document. In everyday use, it signals a functional action of attachment or inclusion, often implying a formal or procedural tone.
"- Please append the signature to the end of the document."
"- The software will append the new data to the existing file."
"- He decided to append a short note to the email."
You say /əˈpend/ in US and UK English, with the stress on the second syllable: uh-PEND. The initial schwa is light, the p is aspirated, and the final d is voiced. In careful speech you’ll hear a crisp /p/ followed by /d/ without a strong vowel between them. Audio resources like Cambridge or Forvo can confirm the /əˈpend/ pattern in your preferred accent.
Common errors include delaying the vowel and pronouncing it as /æ/ instead of a light /ə/, producing /ˈæpɛnd/ or /ˈeɪpənd/. Another mistake is turning the /p/ into a stronger aspirated burst after the /ə/ or inserting a vowel between /p/ and /d/, like /pənd/ or /pænd/. Correction: start with a relaxed schwa /ə/ or /ʌ/, place the /p/ with a short release, and finish with a clear /d/ immediately after /p/ to produce /əˈpend/.
In US and UK, /əˈpend/ is standard with rhotic or non-rhotic r not affecting /pend/. US often has a slightly higher vowel quality and a crisper /d/; UK may show a tighter lip rounding on the /ɪ/ in some speakers, though not prominent here. Australian English typically maintains /əˈpend/ but can show a more centralized vowel on the first syllable and a softer /d/. Overall, the stress and consonant sequence remain /ə/ + /ˈp/ + /end/ across accents.
The challenge lies in the quick transition from the lax, neutral schwa to the stressed /e/ quality in /ˈpend/ and the immediate release from /p/ to /d/ without an intervening vowel. The consonant cluster requires precise timing: ensure a crisp, brief /p/ closure followed by a voiced /d/ release, avoiding a prolonged stop in the middle. For non-native speakers, the key is maintaining a short, unstressed first syllable and a clean, strong second syllable.
A distinctive feature is the minimal but crucial glottal or alveolar timing between /p/ and /d/. In careful speech you often hear a compressed transition: /ə/ → /ˈp/ with a quick release, then a very brief adjacent /d/ or a light velarized quality just before the /d/. This subtle timing helps avoid a voiced /b/ or an elongated vowel and keeps the word crisp in rapid technical discourse.
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Append comes from Middle English appenden, from Old French apostendre, based on Latin ad + pendere, meaning to hang toward or attach. The prefix ad- means toward, and pendere means to hang or weigh, a sense that evolved into “to attach” or “to add.” The modern sense of “to add as an attachment” appears in the 15th–16th centuries as printing and manuscript practices formalized the verb in academic and administrative writing. Over time, “append” generalized from literal hanging to the figurative sense of adding material at the end, as in appendices to books or reports. The term is less common in everyday speech than nouns like “attachment,” but remains standard in technical, legal, and mathematical writing. First known use in English traces to Late Middle English, with formal adoption in scholarly and clerical usage as Latin-based compounds proliferated across European languages. In computing and data contexts, “append” broadened to binding new bytes, records, or fields to existing structures, reinforcing its core meaning of adding at the end.” ,
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "append" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "append"
-end sounds
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