VEN-ding
/ˈvɛndɪŋ/
vending is pronounced VEN-ding (/ˈvɛndɪŋ/). Vending is the act of selling goods, typically from a machine or automated outlet. It can also describe the equipment that provides such sales. The term emphasizes the process of offering items for purchase in a self-service format, often involving coin, card, or digital payment, and receiving a product in return.
Vending is the act of selling goods, typically from a machine or automated outlet. It can also describe the equipment that provides such sales. The term emphasizes the process of offering items for purchase in a self-service format, often involving coin, card, or digital payment, and receiving a product in return.
"The school cafeteria installed a vending machine that dispenses snacks."
"He’s been vending beverages at local events since last summer."
"The vending area is monitored by cameras to prevent theft."
Pronounced VEN-ding with stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈvɛn.dɪŋ/, UK /ˈven.dɪŋ/, AU /ˈven.dɪŋ/. Start with the open-front vowel in ‘vet’, then a short 'e' in the second syllable, and end with the soft “ng” sound as in ‘sing’. Mouth: lips neutral, teeth slightly apart, tongue relaxed, tip of the tongue near the bottom front teeth for /v/ and /d/, then raise the back of the tongue for /ŋ/. A quick audio reference: listen for the crisp initial /v/ followed by a short, unstressed second syllable.
Common errors: substituting /v/ with /f/ in the initial consonant (ve- /fɛn.dɪŋ/), and misplacing the /d/ or turning the final /ŋ/ into /n/. Correction: ensure the initial /v/ is voiced with upper teeth touching lower lip; keep the second syllable short with a clear /ɪ/; finish with the velar nasal /ŋ/ by raising the back of the tongue toward the soft palate without adding a vowel after it.
US: /ˈvɛn.dɪŋ/ with a strong /ɪ/ in the second syllable and rhotic linking in connected speech. UK: /ˈven.dɪŋ/ with perhaps less vowel reduction in rapid speech and a crisper /d/. AU: /ˈven.dɪŋ/ similar to UK but often with slightly broader vowel qualities and a more clipped final consonant in casual speech. In all variants, the final /ŋ/ remains velar; the primary stress remains on the first syllable.
Difficulty comes from the short, lax /ɪ/ in the second syllable and the need to keep the initial /v/ steady while avoiding vowel intrusion before /ŋ/. Learners often devoice /v/ or insert a schwa in the second syllable. Focus on maintaining a clear, light /d/ before /ɪŋ/ and finish with a crisp /ŋ/. Practicing the sequence VEN-ding with minimal vowel length differences helps stabilization.
The word contains a single primary stress on the first syllable and a closed, crisp ending with /ɪŋ/. The second syllable should be reduced but not elided; avoid an extra vowel sound after /ŋ/. The combination of /v/ + /ɛn/ + /d/ + /ɪŋ/ is a smooth, quick sequence that benefits from quick lip tension transfer from /v/ to /d/. IPA: /ˈvɛn.dɪŋ/.
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Vending comes from the verb phrase to ‘vend’, which traces to Latin vendere ‘to sell’, from ven- ‘to sell’ + -dere as a general verb-formative element. The word entered English in the medieval period via Old French vendre and Latin roots, meaning to sell or deal in goods. By the 14th–15th centuries, vend became common in legal and commercial contexts, often paired with objects being sold. The gerund form vending emerged in the 16th–17th centuries as English moved toward -ing gerunds for ongoing actions. The modern sense of “a vending machine” as a device that sells items by itself developed in the late 19th to early 20th centuries with the spread of automated retail technologies. The term evolved from the broader act of selling to designate the system or place that performs selling automatically, and extended into “vending machine” and then the concise noun “vending” to describe the sector or category itself.
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Words that rhyme with "vending"
-ing sounds
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