3 syllables: Heath, row Air, port. Stress on Heath.
HAY-throh ER-pawrt
/ˈheɪθroʊ ˈɛɹpɔɹt/
Heathrow Airport is pronounced HAY-throh ER-pawrt (/ˈheɪθroʊ ˈɛɹpɔɹt/). It has three syllables (Heath-row Air-port), with the stress on "Heath". Heathrow Airport is London's largest international airport, located in Hillingdon, west of central London. The name combines the nearby Heathrow suburb with the conventional 'airport' designation, rendering it a globally recognized hub for air travel. In usage, it identifies both the facility and its aviation services, often abbreviated as LHR in codes.
proper nounHeathrow Airport is London's largest international airport, located in Hillingdon, west of central London. The name combines the nearby Heathrow suburb with the conventional 'airport' designation, rendering it a globally recognized hub for air travel. In usage, it identifies both the facility and its aviation services, often abbreviated as LHR in codes.
How to Pronounce Heathrow Airport
"I flew into Heathrow Airport this morning and took the Heathrow Express to Paddington."
" Heathrow Airport handles a vast array of long-haul and European flights."
"We arrived late at night, and Heathrow Airport was still bustling."
US: /ˈhɛθˌroʊ ˈɛərˌpɔːrt/; UK: /ˈhɛθroʊ ˈeəpɔːt/; AU: /ˈheɪθroʊ ˈeəpɔːt/. Primary stress is on the first syllable of Heathrow: HEATH-row; second word keeps primary stress on AIRPORT. Avoid pronouncing Heathrow as 'HEE-th-row' or 'HEE-th-roe'; keep it as two distinct words with clear RO- and AIR- components. In connected speech, you may link: Heathrow Airport → [ˈhɛθɹəʊ ˈeəpɔːɹt]. Audio resources: consult Forvo and YouGlish for native variants.
Mistake 1: Slurring Heathrow into one syllable or misplacing stress (he-THR-oh vs HEA-THROW). Correction: keep two-syllable Heathrow with HEATH-row; stress the first syllable. Mistake 2: Mispronouncing Heathrow with a silent 'h' or mispronouncing the 'th' as /d/ or /t/. Correction: pronounce /θ/ as the 'th' in thank you, with tongue between teeth. Mistake 3: Vowel quality in Airport; avoid a generic 'uh-PORT' – render as /ɔːrt/ for US/UK; keep /pɔːrt/ with rounded lips. Use minimal pairs with 'port' to ensure /ɔːr/ vs /ɒ/.
US speakers tend to reduce the second syllable of Heathrow to /roʊ/ and keep /ˈeərˌpɔːrt/ with rhotic vowels; UK speakers often have clearer /eə/ in Heathrow and a non-rhotic /ˈeəpɔːt/ or /ˈeəpɔːt/ with a longer /ɔːt/ in Airport; Australian English may show a shorter, flatter /ˈeɪθroʊ/ for Heathrow and a more open vowel in /ˈeəpɔːt/. Across accents, the main divergence is the rhoticity and vowel length in the second syllable of Heathrow and the quality of the /ɔː/ in Airport.
Key challenges: the /θ/ sound in Heathrow, which sits between the tongue and teeth; the two-word phrase creates a cluster of consonants at the junction, particularly with rapid speech; the non-rhotic UK variant can alter vowel length around the /ɔː/ in Airport; the /r/ in Airport varies by rhoticity; practice helps align mouth positions and breath control in natural tempo.
There are no silent letters in either Heathrow or Airport; the stress pattern is two-timed: first syllable HEATH- in Heathrow carries primary stress, and AIR- in Airport carries secondary emphasis in careful speech; in rapid speech, the stress may be compressed but remains perceptible as two-accent phrase. The 'th' is /θ/, not silent; the 'r' in Heathrow can be light or non-rhotic depending on the accent.
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Heathrow is a place-name deriving from Old English elements hǣth (heath, undisturbed upland moor) and wrā or rawa (a fern-covered hillside; sometimes interpreted as a rider or roadway). The combination likely described a geographic feature near the early settlement or manor. The term Heathrow appears in medieval charters and maps, with first attestations in variants like Hederehwyrhta or Hetherhew, reflecting shifts in pronunciation and spelling through Middle English. The word Airport emerged in English during the 20th century as airfield infrastructure expanded; it originally signified the site for the takeoff and landing of aircraft and later broadened to denote the serviced passenger, cargo, and aviation facilities. Heathrow Airport, as a compound proper noun, crystallized in the mid-20th century when the airfield transformed into a major international hub and formalised as a named transport facility. The name Heathrow itself incorporated the local toponym, and Airport designated the area’s purpose. Today, the facility is a globally recognized gateway to the UK, hosting a large network of international routes and connecting to the broader Heathrow Airport system that includes terminals, runways, and associated services.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Heathrow Airport" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Heathrow Airport"
-row sounds
-how sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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