Proper Pronunciation Guide
ricochet
[rɪ kə 
ʃe͜i]
Tips:
- Pronounce this word as three syllables, stressing the third one.
- Pronounce the letter “o” as the weak schwa vowel /ə/.
- Pronounce the letters “ch” as /ʃ/.
- Pronounce the letter “e” like the name of the letter “a” /e͜i/.
- Do not pronounce the letter “t” at the end of the word.
Practice Sentences:
| He saw the bullet ricochet off the mirror behind the bar and strike a patron sitting at the next table. | |
| "The speed at which the remarks were transmitted and reacted to illustrated the new reality candidates are grappling with in this year's campaign, in which Mr. Obama's own remarks about 'bitter' small-town voters ricocheted around the internet." (The New York Times, May 24, 2008, Section A, p.15.) |
Definition:
(verb) To bounce off a surface and go in another direction.
Notes:
Note the use of the past tense of this word in the second practice sentence: ricocheted [rɪ kəʃe͜id]. Because the final letter “t” in this word is silent, the verb ends in a vowel— /e͜i/—causing the “-ed” inflectional ending to be pronounced simply as /d/ because it follows phonetic rules rather than spelling rules in its pronunciation. (If the verb actually ended in the consonant /t/, then the inflectional ending would be pronounced [əd], forming an extra syllable.)