Wardrobe is a noun meaning an installed or portable closet used for storing clothes and accessories. It commonly refers to the collection of garments one wears and can also denote a room or piece of furniture designed for clothing storage. In speech, it is typically pronounced with two syllables and a light, clipped final vowel sound.
"She opened the wardrobe to find her favorite jacket."
"The hotel room had a built-in wardrobe and a safe."
"I need to rearrange my wardrobe for the new season."
"He donated old clothes from his wardrobe to charity."
Wardrobe traces to the Old French garderobe, from garder (to guard, to keep) and -robe (robe, clothing). The English adoption likely occurred in the 13th-14th centuries, initially denoting a place for guarding garments (a guard room or closet). In Middle English, garderobe evolved into warderobe, then wardrobe, with the word acquiring both the sense of a room for clothes and the collection of garments it contains. The root garde- relates to guarding or keeping; by the early modern period, wardrobe specifically signified a storage space for apparel as furniture or a room, then extending to the ensemble of clothes itself. The modern sense emphasizes both the physical closet and the wearer’s clothing assortment, retaining a lexical link to protection and organization historically associated with dress. First known use is attested in medieval English texts, with evolution paralleling architectural storage advances and household furniture development.
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Words that rhyme with "Wardrobe"
-ord sounds
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Wardrobe is pronounced with two syllables: /ˈwɔːrdroʊb/ in US, /ˈwɔːdrəʊb/ in UK, and /ˈwɔːdrəʊb/ in Australian English. The primary stress is on the first syllable: WAR-; the second syllable starts with a Voiced alveolar stop /d/ followed by a rhotic or non-rhotic vowel depending on accent, ending with /roʊb/ or /rəʊb/. Keep your lips rounded for /ɔː/ and finish with a clear /b/ closure. In rapid speech, the /d/ can be lightly released, sounding like /ˈwɔːrdəʊb/ for some speakers.
Common mistakes include misplacing the stress (say WAR-drobe instead of war-DROBE), dropping the /r/ or altering the vowel to a short /ɒ/ or /ɔ/ in non-rhotic accents, and enunciating the second syllable as /dəʊ/ instead of /droʊ/ or /drəʊ/. Correction tips: sustain the /ɔː/ in the first syllable, clearly articulate the /dr/ cluster beginning of the second syllable, and finish with a crisp /b/. Practice by isolating /ˈwɔːr/ then adding /droʊb/ gradually, ensuring your tongue contacts the alveolar ridge for /r/ if rhotic, or relaxes for non-rhotic English.
In US English, you’ll hear /ˈwɔːrdroʊb/, with a rhotic /r/ and a long /oʊ/ in the final syllable. UK and many Commonwealth accents are non-rhotic: /ˈwɔːdrəʊb/ or /ˈwɔːdəʊb/, with a reduced second vowel and a non-rhotic /r/. Australian English tends to be rhotic but with vowel reduction: /ˈwɔːdrəʊb/ or /ˈwɔːdrəʊb/, with slight vowel centering and a shorter /ə/ in the second syllable. Pay attention to whether your /r/ is pronounced (US) or not (UK/AU in some contexts) and the quality of /oʊ/ vs /əʊ/.
Wardrobe is tricky because of the /ɔː/ vowel in the first syllable, which can vary by accent, and the /dr/ cluster that immediately links to a high-front vowel in the second half. The second syllable also presents a vowel reduction challenge: /oʊ/ vs /əʊ/ depending on accent. The sequence /dr/ followed by a stop /b/ can blur in rapid speech. Mastery requires tying the tongue for /r/ (or reducing it in non-rhotic variants) while maintaining a crisp /b/ closure at the end.
Wardrobe has an audible /d/ in the /dr/ cluster, and the primary stress is clearly on the first syllable: WAR-drobe. There are no silent letters in typical pronunciations, though some speakers lightly reduce the second vowel to /ə/ or /əʊ/ in fast speech. The key nuance is maintaining the /ˈwɔːr/ onset with correct rhotic or non-rhotic quality and landing the final /b/ firmly to avoid trailing off.
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