ree-im-BURS
/ˌɹiɪˈmbɝs/
reimburse is pronounced ree-im-BURS (/ˌɹiɪˈmbɝs/). Reimburse means to repay someone for money they have spent or losses they have incurred, typically restoring them to their original financial position. It is used for formal or business contexts and emphasizes reimbursement of cost, expense, or damage. The term can also imply compliance with a policy or agreement that covers these costs.
Reimburse means to repay someone for money they have spent or losses they have incurred, typically restoring them to their original financial position. It is used for formal or business contexts and emphasizes reimbursement of cost, expense, or damage. The term can also imply compliance with a policy or agreement that covers these costs.
"The company will reimburse you for travel expenses incurred during the conference."
"After submitting the receipts, employees are reimbursed within two weeks."
"The insurance policy covers medical costs, and you will be reimbursed the out-of-pocket portion."
Pronounce it as /riːɪmˈbɜːs/ in US and UK terms, with three syllables typically: re-im-burse. Primary stress falls on the third syllable, 'burse.' Start with a long 'ree' or 'ri' sound, move to a quick 'im' as a light schwa-plus-m, then stress the final 'burse' with a mid back vowel and dark 'r' in rhotic accents. In practice, many native speakers reduce to /ˌriːɪmˈbɜːs/ in fast speech. You can listen to the pronunciation on Pronounce or YouGlish to hear natural speech. IPA: US /ɹiˈɪmˌbɜɹs/, UK /riːɪmˈbɜːs/, AU /ˌriːɪmˈbɜːs/.
Two common errors: (1) Stressing the first syllable: ri-imbursement-like rhythm can sound off; ensure the stress is on the final two-syllable unit: re-im-BURSE. (2) Mispronouncing the 'burse' as 'berse' or 'burst' due to an English 'urse' vs 'urse' confusion; aim for a long 'ur' vowel (as in 'burn') with a clear 's' and soft 'e' ending. Correct by practicing the final 'burse' with a clear 'b' and a voiced retroflex or rhotic 'r' depending on accent; avoid flattening the vowel. Include a quick practice phrase: 'reimburse expenses' to lock the two-syllable stress on 'BURSE'.
In US English, you often hear /riˈɪmˌbɜːs/ with rhotic r and a two-syllable fall in punchy three-syllable rhythm. UK English typically uses /riːɪmˈbɜːs/ with less rhotic emphasis in some varieties, but still the final stress on 'burse.' Australian English tends to align with US in rhoticity and vowel length, with /ˌriːɪmˈbɜːs/, sometimes a slightly flatter vowel in rapid speech. Across all, the key is the final stressed 'burse' and the 'im' sequence leading into it.
Difficulties come from the triphthong-like start 're-im-' and the final stressed 'burse' combining a consonant cluster with a back vowel. The 'im' can blur in rapid speech, and the final 'burse' requires a back, mid vowel with a precise 'r' (in rhotic accents) before the 's' consonant. Practicing with careful mouth positioning—tongue high mid for the 'ri' /r/ and mid back for /ɜː/—helps stabilize the transition. Slow, deliberate practice followed by quick repeats will help you lock the rhythm.
Yes. The presence of three consonant sounds in quick sequence (r + im + b) requires a controlled release between the 'm' and the 'b' so the 'burse' receives emphasis without blending. The stressed syllable comes on 'burse,' so you should prepare the tongue to release air cleanly from /m/ into /b/ and then into /ɜː/ before the final /s/. A small audible pause before the 'burse' can help emphasize the stress in careful speech.
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US: rhotic /ɹ/ throughout, pronounce final /ɜː/ clearly with a touched 'r' before the 's'. UK: non-rhotic tendencies in some regions, but many speakers keep /ɹ/ in careful speech; final /ɜː/ is long and tense. AU: rhotic with a broad vowel quality; smoother blending between 'im' and 'burse' with a slightly flatter 'ɜː' and a rolled or tapped 'r' depending on speaker. IPA references above help you tune vowels and rhotics precisely.
Reimburse comes from the combination of the prefix re- (back, again) and the French word 'embourser' (to coin or to pay), via Late Latin influences centered on restoring funds. The modern sense of compensating someone for expenses developed in English legal and commercial language from the 17th to 18th centuries, aligning with the growth of formal accounting and expense reimbursement policies. While the form reimburse has remained stable, the related noun reimbursement emerged as a parallel term describing the act or process itself. The word passed into wider usage with the expansion of corporate expense policies and reimbursement schemes in the 19th and 20th centuries, where organizations formalized procedures to return incurred costs to employees and vendors. First known usages appear in legal and financial documents discussing settlement of costs and the restoration of funds, with early examples in administrative and parliamentary records. Over time, 'reimburse' came to denote not just repayment but compliance with policy stipulations and documentation requirements (receipts, approvals, and timelines) as part of modern business practices.
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Words that rhyme with "reimburse"
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