2 syllables: home, made. Stress on made.
hohm-MAYD
/hoʊmˈmeɪd/
homemade is pronounced hohm-MAYD (/hoʊmˈmeɪd/). It has two syllables (home-made), with the stress on "made". Homemade describes something produced or prepared at home, rather than in a factory or store. It often implies a personal, artisanal touch and can refer to food, crafts, or solutions made by a household. The term carries connotations of care, customization, and cost-saving effort.
Homemade describes something produced or prepared at home, rather than in a factory or store. It often implies a personal, artisanal touch and can refer to food, crafts, or solutions made by a household. The term carries connotations of care, customization, and cost-saving effort.
- Common phonetic challenge: ensuring the long diphthong in the first syllable /oʊ/ is maintained without shortening to /o/; practice by holding your lips in a rounded position then gliding into /m/ for a smooth homelike sound. - Tip: avoid inserting a deliberate pause between syllables; keep a fluid connection so it sounds like one word. - Second challenge: placing primary stress on the second syllable; you may be tempted to stress the first syllable. Practice with rhythm cues to anchor the stress on /ˈmeɪd/.
"I brought a homemade loaf to the potluck."
"She decorated the party with homemade banners and cupcakes."
"We prefer homemade solutions to avoid warehouse-grown options."
You pronounce it hoʊmˌmeɪd. The primary stress sits on the second syllable after the base word, with a lighter secondary emphasis on the first syllable. Start with a clear /hoʊm/ sound (like 'home'), then glide into /ˈmeɪd/ for 'made.' Think ‘home’ + ‘made’ spoken together smoothly. IPA reference: US /hoʊmˌmeɪd/, UK /həʊˈmeɪd/, AU /həʊˈmeɪd/.
Two frequent errors are flattening the /oʊ/ diphthong to a short /o/ and misplacing the stress by saying ho-MADE with a strong first syllable. Correct by shaping your lips for /oʊ/ as in 'home,' then release into a clear /meɪd/ with a light secondary stress. Also avoid inserting extra syllables like 'home-uh-made'; keep it tight as /hoʊmˌmeɪd/.
In US English, you’ll typically hear /hoʊmˌmeɪd/, with a full /oʊ/ and a clear /ˈmeɪd/. In UK English, the first syllable may reduce slightly to /həʊ/ with a stronger second part, yielding /həʊˈmeɪd/. Australian tends toward /həʊˈmeɪd/ with non-rhoticity similar to British. The main differences are vowel quality and rhoticity, not consonant shapes.
The challenge lies in the smooth transition between the /oʊ/ diphthong and /ˈmeɪd/ syllable, plus ensuring the secondary stress lands naturally. Beginners often misplace the stress or flatten the diphthong, leading to /hɒmeɪd/ or /hoˈmɛm/. Focus on a clean /hoʊm/ then a crisp /ˈmeɪd/ with minimal pause between syllables.
Yes—watch the syllable boundary after /m/. In natural speech, the /m/ links directly to /ˈmeɪd/ without a strong pause. Some speakers insert a light schwa in rapid speech (həʊˈmeɪd) when unstressed, but a clear, connected /hoʊmˌmeɪd/ is preferred for clarity.
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The word homemade is a compound formed from home (originating from Old English hām, with Germanic roots tracing back to Proto-Germanic *haimaz) and made (from Old English macian, related to Proto-Germanic *makijan). The combined form appears in English in the late Middle Ages in some compound spellings but became common in the 18th–19th centuries as standard spelling “homemade.” The meaning shifted from simply being produced at home to implying a more personal, artisanal, or non-industrial origin. The early usage often described “home-made bread” or “home-made clothes,” gradually expanding to non-food items and even abstract concepts like “home-made solutions.” By the 20th century, the term was widely used in marketing and everyday language to signal a contrast to factory-produced goods, reinforcing notions of customization, frugality, and domestic skill. First known printed attestations appear in 17th- to 18th-century cookery and household manuals, with rapid adoption in general usage by the 1800s as domestic production became associated with personal labor and ingenuity.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "homemade" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "homemade"
-ade sounds
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