3 syllables: du, ra, tion. Stress on ra.
duh-RAY-shuhn
/dəˈɹeɪʃən/
duration is pronounced duh-RAY-shuhn (/dəˈɹeɪʃən/). It has three syllables (du-ra-tion), with the stress on "ra". Duration refers to the length of time something lasts. It denotes the period during which an event or condition continues from start to finish, often measured or perceived in units of time. In everyday use, it can describe how long a task, activity, or experience takes to complete or endure.
Duration refers to the length of time something lasts. It denotes the period during which an event or condition continues from start to finish, often measured or perceived in units of time. In everyday use, it can describe how long a task, activity, or experience takes to complete or endure.
"The duration of the meeting was longer than anyone expected."
"They estimated the duration of the flight at six hours."
"Her training improved the duration she could run without stopping."
Pronounce as /djuːˈreɪʃn̩/ in US and UK. In IPA, US/UK typically /djuːˈreɪʃn̩/ with stress on the second syllable: du-RA-tion. The first syllable begins with a /d/ plus a fronted /j/ (the 'dyoo' sound), the second syllable has /ˈreɪ/ (the long 'a' as in 'raise'), and the final syllable is a reduced /n̩/ syllabic nasal. In practice, you’ll hear “duh-RA-shn” with the final syllabic /n/ lightly vocalized. Ensure the /ɹ/ or /r/ is not swallowed; keep the /reɪ/ crisp and avoid turning it into /riː/. Audio examples: Cambridge/Forvo pronunciations can help anchor the /djuːˈreɪʃn̩/ variant.
Common errors: (1) Misplacing the stress on the first syllable as du-DRAY-shn instead of du-RA-shn; (2) Turning /djuː/ into a hard /duː/ or /duː-/, making it sound like 'dur-raise'; (3) Deleting the syllabic /n̩/ at the end or pronouncing it as a full /n/ followed by a vowel. Correction: keep the /d/ followed by a light /j/ glide for /djuː/, place primary stress on the second syllable: du-RA-shn̩, and finish with a quick, compressed final syllable. Practice with minimal pairs: 'durable' vs 'duration' to feel the stress shift. Listening to native audio and mimicking the rhythm will reduce these errors.
Across US/UK/AU, the core pronunciation /djuːˈreɪʃn̩/ is recognizable, but the initial /djuː/ can shift to /dɜːˈreɪ/ in some varieties and speaker idiolects. US often reduces the initial 'dyoo' to /djuː/ with a slightly tighter /j/ pause, UK tends to a clearer /djuː/ or /dʒuː/ on occasion, and AU can feature a less rhotic quality with slightly shifted vowel timing. The stress remains on the second syllable, but vowel length and rhoticity can color the diphthongs: American speakers may have a slightly longer /əˈreɪ/ in connected speech, while UK and AU may show a sharper /əˈreɪ/. Listen for the distinctive /ˈreɪ/ and the lightly reduced final /n̩/ in casual speech.
The difficulty lies in the multi-syllabic structure with a strong secondary stress shift and the syllabic ending. The /djuː/ onset requires a subtle blend of a /d/ with an initial /j/ glide, which can turn into a tense /ɹ/ if slowed. The /ˈreɪ/ diphthong demands careful jaw and tongue position to avoid turning into /riː/ or /rə/. Finally, the final /n̩/ requires a quick, clipped nasal without introducing an extra vowel. Practice isolating each part and blending smoothly, especially the transition from /j/ to /ˈreɪ/ and the syllabic /n̩/ at the end.
A helpful tip is to think: ‘duh-RA-shn’ with the rhoticity softened in non-rhotic accents. Focus on keeping the /j/ glide audible but not overpowering, and compressing the final /n̩/ so it functions as a syllabic consonant rather than a hop to a following vowel. Visualize your mouth as starting with a small mouth opening for /d/, a quick /j/ tongue blade, a rounded /ɹ/ or /r/ movement, then a precise /eɪ/ diphthong, ending with a compressed /n̩/. This helps prevent mispronunciations like /ˈdɒnˌreɪʃn/ or /duːˈreɪʃən/.
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Duration derives from the Old French duracion, from Latin duratio, from durare “to last, endure,” from durus “hard, firm, lasting.” The Latin root dur- conveys hardness or endurance in time, leading to meanings tied to lasting length. By Middle English, duration had taken on a more formal sense of the span of time something continues, especially in legal, mathematical, or philosophical contexts. The term broadened in the 17th–18th centuries with the rise of astronomy, physics, and jurisprudence, where precise time spans became essential. Its usage expanded beyond mere length to describe the qualitative sense of time’s passage under varying conditions—e.g., duration of exposure, duration of a melody, or duration of an event. Today, duration is a standard term across disciplines, often contrasted with instantaneous moments or discrete counts, and remains a core concept in time measurement and scheduling. The pronunciation solidified in English during the Early Modern period, with stress typically on the second syllable: du-RA-tion, aligning with related words like duration, durable, and endure. The spelling mirrors its Latin origin, with the -tion suffix signaling a noun form denoting a period or extent.
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Words that rhyme with "duration"
-ure sounds
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