How to pronounce "centipedes" in English
CEN·ti·pe·des
Primary stress: cen
Hear native speakers say centipedes in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “centipedes”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
CEN
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
ti
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
pe
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
des
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("CEN"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "centipedes" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "centipedes is" sounds like "centipedes-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "centipedes" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“Scorpions and centipedes have been around for at least 400 million years, making them the oldest venomous land lineage.”— SciShowWatch clip
“And centipedes will raise their babies until they are virtually the size of the adults.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Scorpions and centipedes are competitors, they hunt the same prey.”— Smithsonian ChannelWatch clip
“And you might be familiar with the millipedes and centipedes.”— Khan AcademyWatch clip
“scary are the centipedes.”— StanfordWatch clip
“Centipedes, do they find incomplete parcellations?”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
Practice Speaking “centipedes”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
Scorpions and centipedes have been around for at least 400 million years, making them the oldest venomous land lineage.
Hear it in context: “centipedes”
39 clipsThe English word “centipedes”. Phonologically, it consists of 4 syllables (cen · ti · pe · des), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (cen). Grammatically, “centipedes” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 39 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “centipedes” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from SciShow, YaleCourses, Smithsonian Channel.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USSciShowClip #1 · @1:01
“from 500 to 700 million years old. Scorpions and centipedes have been around for at least 400 million years, making them the oldest venomous land lineage. making them the oldest venomous land lineage.”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #2 · @10:37
“and they go out foraging and bring food back to their babies. And centipedes will raise their babies until they are virtually the size of the adults. the size of the adults.”
- 🇺🇸 USSmithsonian ChannelClip #3 · @11:22
“pincers and sting make it every bit as deadly. Scorpions and centipedes are competitors, they hunt the same prey. they hunt the same prey.”
- 🇺🇸 USKhan AcademyClip #4 · @4:50
“So myriapod, a huge amount of legs. And you might be familiar with the millipedes and centipedes. Those are myriapods.”
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #5 · @42:26
“this thing out, the one thing in Hawaii that is a little scary are the centipedes. They'll they'll really get you. And so we took off the solar panel and there was this sort of water centipede.”
Definition & Meaning: “centipedes”
- Any arthropod of class Chilopoda, which have a segmented body with one pair of legs per segment and from about 20 to 300 legs in total.
- A many-oared Chinese smuggling boat.
Example Sentences (3)
- “Centipedes differ from millipedes by having a single pair of legs on each body segment.”
- “Scorpions and centipedes have been around for at least 400 million years, making them the oldest venomous land lineage.”
- “And centipedes will raise their babies until they are virtually the size of the adults.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “centipedes”
- Syllables:
- cen · ti · pe · des
- Primary stress:
- cen
- Hear it in context
- centipedes
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"centipedes" has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "centipedes" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about centipedes
How many syllables are in “centipedes”?
“centipedes” has 4 syllables: cen · ti · pe · des.
Where is the stress in “centipedes”?
The primary stress in “centipedes” is on “CEN”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “centipedes” mean?
Any arthropod of class Chilopoda, which have a segmented body with one pair of legs per segment and from about 20 to 300 legs in total.
How can I hear “centipedes” used in real sentences?
This page has 39 real-world video examples of “centipedes” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “centipedes”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).