3 syllables: ye, ar, old. Stress on old.
yur-ROHLD
/jɜːˈroʊld/
yearold is pronounced yur-ROHLD (/jɜːˈroʊld/). It has three syllables (ye-ar-old), with the stress on "old". Year-old refers to age calculated in years, typically describing someone who has completed a certain number of years of age. It functions as a compound modifier placed after a numeral (e.g., a 5-year-old boy) and is often hyphenated when used as an adjective. In practice, it conveys a precise age rather than a range or approximate age. The term is common in both formal and informal contexts when quantifying age.
Year-old refers to age calculated in years, typically describing someone who has completed a certain number of years of age. It functions as a compound modifier placed after a numeral (e.g., a 5-year-old boy) and is often hyphenated when used as an adjective. In practice, it conveys a precise age rather than a range or approximate age. The term is common in both formal and informal contexts when quantifying age.
"The year-old child learned to ride a bike with training wheels."
"A five-year-old year-old would start school next fall."
"The year-old paintings were restored and displayed again."
You pronounce it as two tied syllables: /ˈjɪərˌoʊld/. In US English, the first syllable rhymes with 'ear' and carries primary stress, followed by a light secondary stress on 'old'; in careful speech you’ll hear the /j/ onset and the /ɪə/ diphthong. The second syllable uses /oʊld/ with a clear long O and final /ld/ cluster. Tip: keep the /r/ off the first syllable in non-rhotic accents; in rhotic US, the /r/ is pronounced. Reference audio: compare with “year” followed by “old” with a light pause between, then blend.”,
Common errors include: (1) splitting into three syllables (year-old) with an unnecessary extra vowel; (2) misplacing stress, giving OLD primary stress or spreading stress evenly; (3) mispronouncing /jɪər/ as /jɛər/ or flattening /ɜːr/ in non-rhotic speech. Correction tips: pronounce first syllable as /ˈjɪər/ (like ‘ear’ with a leading J), maintain a tight hyphenated link to /oʊld/, and avoid tensing the jaw excessively on the second syllable. Practicing with minimal pairs like year-old vs. year old will help cement the correct connected form.
In US English, you’ll hear /ˈjɪərˌoʊld/ with rhotic r and clear /ɪə/ then /oʊld/. In UK English, /ˈjɪəˌrəʊld/ features a shorter /ɪə/ nucleus, non-rhotic r after a vowel, and a palatalized glide before /əʊ/. Australian English tends to align with UK patterns but may reduce the second syllable slightly and maintain the long /oʊld/ with subtle vowel quality shifts. Across all, the primary stress remains on the first syllable; the subtle vowel shifts reflect general regional vowel inventories, not a change in syllable count.
The difficulty lies in blending two morphemes with different vowel movements: the /jɪər/ onset and the /oʊld/ coda must connect smoothly without an intrusive pause. The vowel transition from /ɪə/ to /oʊ/ can be tricky, especially for learners with a strong tendency to reduce unstressed syllables or to pronounce the /r/ in non-rhotic accents. Additionally, keeping the hyphenated form audible in fluent speech requires precise timing between syllables and consistent pitch, ensuring the word remains a single, compact unit.
The unique question here centers on the exact stress and connection: you should place primary stress on the first syllable (YEAR), with a lighter secondary emphasis on the second syllable in fluent speech. In connected speech, the boundary between /ˈjɪər/ and /oʊld/ blurs slightly; aim for a tight link rather than a pronounced pause. Practicing with rapid numbers, like 5-year-old, will reinforce the natural rhythm: YEAR-OLD, not yeAR-OLD.
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Year-old is a compound noun/adjective formed by combining the noun year with the hyphenated descriptor -old, which originates from old as a noun meaning ‘age’ and as an adjective meaning ‘having age’ or ‘of a specified number of years’. The construction likely evolved in English to express a precise age in years, a pattern seen in other hyphenated age-denoting forms (for example, five-year-old). The term year originates from Old English gear, geara with Proto-Germanic roots *ygōr, related to time and period, while -old derives from Old English eald, meaning ‘old’ or ‘aged’ and later used in compounds to designate a specified age. First usage of year as a unit of age is well-attested in the medieval and early modern periods, though the exact hyphenated “year-old” compound becomes common in modern English to describe people and things with a fixed age. Over time, the usage shifted from descriptive phrases such as “a year old” (often treated as two words) to the standard hyphenated compound used today in most varieties of English. Modern usage treats “year-old” as a fixed modifier, frequently preceding nouns (e.g., year-old child) or following numbers (e.g., a 5-year-old), and remains a stable part of demographic and age-related descriptions across dialects.
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Words that rhyme with "yearold"
-old sounds
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