2 syllables: car, bide. Stress on car.
KAHR-beyed
/ˈkɑˌɹbaɪd/
carbide is pronounced KAHR-beyed (/ˈkɑˌɹbaɪd/). It has two syllables (car-bide), with the stress on "car". Carbide refers to a compound consisting of carbon and a more electropositive element or a binary compound of carbon with a less electronegative element, often used in industrial contexts such as cutting tools and ceramics. In chemistry, it denotes a compound containing carbon in a formal oxidation state lower than +4, and in materials science it commonly describes silicon carbide or metal carbides critical to hard materials engineering.
Carbide refers to a compound consisting of carbon and a more electropositive element or a binary compound of carbon with a less electronegative element, often used in industrial contexts such as cutting tools and ceramics. In chemistry, it denotes a compound containing carbon in a formal oxidation state lower than +4, and in materials science it commonly describes silicon carbide or metal carbides critical to hard materials engineering.
- You may substitute /ɑː/ with a shorter /æ/ or /ɒ/ in the first syllable; keep it open and long as /ɑː/; - You might fail to articulate the /aɪ/ as a clear diphthong; practice with minimal pairs like /kɑːr/ vs /kʊər/ then /baɪd/; - Some speakers blend the final /d/ too quickly; ensure a clean alveolar stop at the end.
"The factory uses a tungsten carbide drill bit for precision machining."
"Silicon carbide is known for its exceptional hardness and thermal stability."
"Carbide powders are essential in ceramic manufacturing and specialized cutting tools."
pronounce it CAR-byd, with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈkɑːrˌbaɪd/, UK /ˈkɑː.baɪd/, AU /ˈkɑː.baɪd/. The first syllable uses an open-back a like 'car' and the second syllable is a dull -byd (/baɪd/) without a strong consonant cluster at the end. Mouth: start with a wide jaw for /kɑːr/ and finish with /baɪd/ where the tongue glides to a high front position for /aɪ/ followed by /d/.”
Common mistakes: 1) misplacing the stress as CAR-beid or CAr-biDE; 2) mispronouncing the vowel in the first syllable as /æ/ instead of /ɑː/; 3) ending with a softer /d/ or a trailing /-d/ sound. Correction: keep /ˈkɑːr/ for the first syllable, ensure /baɪd/ for the second, with a clean /d/ release. Use a slight delay between syllables to avoid blending. Practice with minimal pairs like ‘car’ vs ‘carb’ to feel the boundary, then connect to /baɪd/.”
US: /ˈkɑːrˌbaɪd/ with rhotic /r/ and clear /ˌbaɪd/. UK: /ˈkɑː.baɪd/ with non-rhotic r and a tighter /ɑː/; AU: /ˈkɑːˌbaɪd/ similar to UK but with Australian vowel reduction and a softer /r/ in some dialects. The second syllable /baɪd/ remains /baɪd/ in all. Overall, rhoticity and vowel quality differ; US retains rhotic /r/ after the first syllable while UK/AU often drop intrusive r and may have a slightly shorter /ɑː/ in the first syllable.”
It challenges non-native speakers with two features: a strong initial /k/ onset followed by a long /ɑː/ or /ɔː/ vowel before a diphthong /aɪ/ in /-baɪd/, and a final voiced alveolar /d/ crunch. The transition between the open back vowel and the high front diphthong /aɪ/ requires precise tongue height and lip rounding. Practice by isolating each segment (/kɑːr/ and /baɪd/) then blend with a controlled, crisp /d/ release.”
Think of the second syllable as a single, tight /baɪd/ rather than /biːd/. Keep the /r/ in American pronunciation if you’re aiming for /kɑːr/ in US; in non-rhotic dialects, reduce the /r/ to a vowel-like color or silent. Emphasize the /aɪ/ glide between /a/ and /ɪ/. This helps distinguish it from similar terms like ‘carbide’ in lower-case usage versus chemical names with wider vowel variance.
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- US: rhotic /r/ in /ˈkɑːr/. Focus on alveolar tap or approximant; - UK: non-rhotic /r/; stress may move slightly; - AU: similar to UK with slightly different vowel heights; all share /baɪd/; IPA references: /ˈkɑː.baɪd/
The word carbide comes from the combination of carbon with an element, traced through Late Latin carbo ‘coal, carbon’ from Latin carbo, and French carbide, from the suffix -ide used in chemistry to denote a binary compound. In the 19th century, chemists adopted the term to describe compounds in which carbon forms covalent bonds with less electronegative elements, especially metals (e.g., calcium carbide, silicon carbide). The earliest known uses appear in 19th-century chemical literature as industrial chemistry advanced; carbide alloys and compounds became central to materials science for tools and abrasives. The evolution of the term reflects the broader shift from descriptive mineral chemistry to explicit compound naming, with “carbide” maintaining a stable meaning as any compound containing carbon with two or more elements, particularly when carbon atoms are bonded in a carbide structure as a lattice in ceramics or metal carbides. In modern materials science, silicon carbide and tungsten carbide dominate discussions due to their exceptional hardness and thermal properties, while the generic term remains widely used across disciplines to denote carbon-containing binary compounds. First known uses appear in technical publications of the 1800s as chemistry matured into industrial applications.
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Words that rhyme with "carbide"
-ide sounds
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