PUR-chuhst
/ˈpɝtʃəst/
purchased is pronounced PUR-chuhst (/ˈpɝtʃəst/). Purchased is the past tense of purchase, meaning you bought something. In pronunciation, it is a two-syllable word with a primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈpɜːrtʃst/ in US and UK varieties, with a final cluster that blends tʃ and st. The word often sounds like a single unit in connected speech, and the ending can be subtly unreleased or lightly pronounced in rapid speech.
Purchased is the past tense of purchase, meaning you bought something. In pronunciation, it is a two-syllable word with a primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈpɜːrtʃst/ in US and UK varieties, with a final cluster that blends tʃ and st. The word often sounds like a single unit in connected speech, and the ending can be subtly unreleased or lightly pronounced in rapid speech.
"She purchased a new car last weekend."
"They purchased the domain name for their website."
"He purchased groceries on his way home from work."
Stress falls on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈpɜr.tʃəst/; UK /ˈpɜː.tʃəst/; AU /ˈpəː.tʃəst/. The first syllable contains /p/ + /ɜː/ or /ə/ depending on the accent, followed by /tʃ/; the second syllable is a light /əst/ with the /t/ often weak or elided in rapid speech. Practically: say 'PUR-chəst', with a crisp /t/ before the /st/ cluster in careful speech.
Common errors include pronouncing the second syllable as /ʒ/ or /z/ instead of /tʃə/ (e.g., ‘puer-zh-ast’), and over-emphasizing the final /t/ in casual speech. Another frequent slip is dropping the /t/ entirely, yielding /ˈpɜːˈʃast/. Correcting tips: keep the /tʃ/ intact as a single sound (/tʃ/) before the /ə/ and avoid inserting an extra syllable. Maintain the light, quick /ə/ and finish with an unaspirated or lightly aspirated /st/ cluster.
US: /ˈpɜr.tʃəst/, with rhotic /ɜr/ and clear /t/ before /st/. UK: /ˈpɜː.tʃəst/, longer /ɜː/ and non-rhoticity doesn’t affect the ending. AU: /ˈpəː.tʃəst/, vowel height broader with a more centralized /ə/. All share the /tʃ/ + /ə/ in the second syllable, but vowel lengths and rhoticity vary; Americans often pronounce with a slightly higher first vowel and a lighter touch on the final /t/, while Brits maintain a longer first vowel and crisper /t/.
The difficulty lies in the consonant cluster /tʃst/ at the boundary between the two syllables and the rapid transition from /tʃ/ to /st/. The tongue must move from alveolar ridge contact for /t/ to the postalveolar /tʃ/ without introducing an extra vowel, then quickly adjoin the /st/ cluster. This requires precise timing and a subtle raise in the tongue toward the post-alveolar region—the kind of coordination that’s easy to slip in fast speech.
Generally no in careful speech; in rapid casual speech some speakers may reduce or elide the /t/ between /tʃ/ and /st/, producing /ˈpɜːʃst/ or /ˈpəːʃt/. Most speakers, however, retain a subtle /t/ or a very light release before the /st/ cluster. If you hear /ˈpɜːr.tʃst/ clearly, you’re hearing a slower, more careful pronunciation. Practicing both forms can help you sound natural in different contexts.
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US: rhotic /ɜr/ in the first syllable, crisper /t/ before /st/. UK: longer /ɜː/, less rhotic influence on the /ə/; AU: broader /ə/ and slightly flatter intonation. All share /tʃ/ before /ə/; focus on keeping the /t/ light and the /tʃ/ merged. Vowel quality: US tends toward shorter /ɜr/; UK leans toward /ɜː/; AU toward /əː/ or /ɜː/ depending on speaker. Consonant cluster: avoid adding extra vowels between /t/ and /ʃ/ or /tʃ/ and /st/. Use IPA cues: /ˈpɜr.tʃəst/ (US), /ˈpɜː.tʃəst/ (UK), /ˈpəː.tʃəst/ (AU).
Purchased comes from the verb purchase, which derives from Middle English purchacen, from Old French acheter (modern French acheter meaning to buy). The noun form “purchase” originally meant a thing bought but evolved to denote the act or process of buying and, in some senses, a gain or advantage. The suffix -ed marks the past participle and simple past tense in English, aligning with regular verb conjugation. The root involves Germanic and Romance language interchanges, with the sense of taking hold or securing through exchange. Over time, “purchase” broadened to include metaphorical uses (e.g., “to gain a foothold” or “to purchase momentum”), and in many dialects the pronunciation shifted the sequence of consonants (pɜːrtʃˈst) as the t and s adjacent clusters coalesce in fluent speech. First known written attestations surface in Middle English (12th–14th centuries) with the sense tied to buying or securing goods, gradually stabilizing into the past tense form “purchased.”
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Words that rhyme with "purchased"
-rst sounds
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