2 syllables: hard, ware. Stress on hard.
HAHR-dwer
/ˈhɑɹˌdwɛɹ/
hardware is pronounced HAHR-dwer (/ˈhɑɹˌdwɛɹ/). It has two syllables (hard-ware), with the stress on "hard". Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer system or machinery, including devices, fittings, and tools used to support, connect, or operate it. It contrasts with software, which comprises programs and data. In everyday usage, it also means tangible metal goods like screws, nails, and brackets used in construction or repairs.
Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer system or machinery, including devices, fittings, and tools used to support, connect, or operate it. It contrasts with software, which comprises programs and data. In everyday usage, it also means tangible metal goods like screws, nails, and brackets used in construction or repairs.
"I need to upgrade the hardware in my PC to improve performance."
"The workshop carries a full range of hardware and fasteners."
"We installed new door hardware to replace the old levers."
Hardware is pronounced with two syllables: HAR-dwair (US) or HARD-weər (UK). Primary stress is on the first syllable: /ˈhærdˌwɛəɹ/ (US) or /ˈhɑːdwɛə/ (UK). The second syllable often features a shwa-like reduction in rapid speech, but careful speakers render it as /wɛɚ/ or /weə/. In many US dialects, you’ll hear a subtle linking /d/ into /w/ making /ˈhærdˌwɛɚ/. For a quick reference, think “HARD-ware,” with a crisp /d/ followed by a rounded /w/ onset into the second vowel.
Common errors include turning the second syllable into a plain /er/ or /ə/ without the /w/ onset, resulting in /ˈhɑːrdər/ or /ˈhærdər/—losing the /dw/ sequence. Another mistake is reducing the second syllable too much, saying /ˈhærdɚ/ and skipping the /weɪər/ quality. To correct: practice /ˈhærdˌwɛəɹ/ (US) or /ˈhɑːdwɛə/ (UK) emphasizing the /d/ followed by /w/, and keep the second syllable distinct with a slight /ɛə/ or /eə/ diphthong.
In US English you typically hear /ˈhærdˌwɛɚ/ with rhotic /r/ and a pronounced /w/ onset into the second syllable, sometimes with a darker /ɚ/ in casual speech. UK tends to be /ˈhɑːdwɛː/ with non-rhotic accents, less emphasis on the /r/, and a longer /eː/ or /ɛː/ in the second syllable. Australian English sits between, often /ˈhɑːdweə/ or /ˈhæːdəwə/ with rhoticity reducing in non-stressed positions but still present. In all, focus on the /dw/ cluster and the second-syllable vowel quality.
Two factors make hardware tricky: the /dw/ sequence after a stressed syllable creates an unfamiliar consonant cluster for some learners, and the second syllable carries a vowel that shifts subtly in fast speech (/wɛə/ versus /wɪər/ depending on accent). Additionally, non-rhotic varieties may mute the final /r/ or alter the second-syllable vowel. Practice by isolating the /d/ and /w/, then glide into /ɛə/ or /eə/ with a light lip-rounding transition, and rehearse the full /ˈhærdˌwɛəɹ/ or /ˈhɑːdwɛə/ patterns.
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Hardware comes from Middle English hardweare, a compound of hard (hard, sturdy) and ware (goods, merchandise). The term originally described sturdy goods or tools used in crafts and construction, evolving through Old English and Norman influences to English as a general label for hardware items. By the 16th–17th centuries, the sense broadened to include metal fittings and implements used in carpentry, building, and machinery assembly, eventually aligning with the modern sense of tangible tools and components used to support or connect devices and structures. The semantic shift emphasizes materiality and utility, distinguishing hardware from software and other intangible assets in both computing and industrial contexts. First known uses appear in catalogs and guild records of European workshops, with English texts gradually standardizing the term to cover hardware items like nails, screws, brackets, hinges, and other metal fittings that form the physical infrastructure of systems and constructions.
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Words that rhyme with "hardware"
-our sounds
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