How to pronounce "machine gun" in English
məˈʃiːn.ɡʌn
mə·SHEEN·guhn
Primary stress: SHEEN
Hear native speakers say machine gun in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “machine gun”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
mə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
SHEEN
Tense long vowel with sustained acoustic resonance.
guhn
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("SHEEN"). 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 "machine gun" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "machine gun is" sounds like "machine gun-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "machine gun" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“machine gun fire or taking their own life rather than falling into captivity but vet was just a small part”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“machine gun mounted on top of a vehicle and the basic idea was that you're going to have a sort of joystick that would be able to sort of run this vehicle around”— StanfordWatch clip
“machine gun fire the snarl of falling Plains to try and shield the stranded troops the RAF deploys its latest fighter plane”— Smithsonian ChannelWatch clip
“machine gun fire with another seal picked up the injured Soldier and dragged him to the safety of a sheltered”— Simple HistoryWatch clip
“machine gun clearly visible he follows the gun man to the beach as the gunman was on the loose”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“machine gun training has been canceled for now but it's not just faulty cartridges that have been causing problems”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “machine gun”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
machine gun fire or taking their own life rather than falling into captivity but vet was just a small part
Hear it in context: “machine gun”
958 clipsThe English word “machine gun” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as məˈʃiːn.ɡʌn (phonetic respelling: mə-SHEEN-guhn). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (mə · SHEEN · guhn), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (SHEEN). Grammatically, “machine gun” functions as a noun, verb and acts as an English heteronym where syllable stress shifts between noun (initial-syllable stress) and verb (second-syllable stress) usage. SayItVid indexes 958 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “machine gun” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from Harvard University, Stanford, Smithsonian Channel.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #1 · @32:46
“officer even rushing toward death in front of machine gun fire or taking their own life rather than falling into captivity but vet was just a small part falling into captivity but vet was just a small part”
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #2 · @17:28
“there yeah the South African thing was a a a a a big gun I mean a really big machine gun mounted on top of a vehicle and the basic idea was that you're going to have a sort of joystick that would be able to sort of run this vehicle around to have a sort of joystick that would be able to sort of run this vehicle around”
- 🇺🇸 USSmithsonian ChannelClip #3 · @2:30
“to the scream of falling bombs was out of the angry Hornet's noise of diplomas machine gun fire the snarl of falling Plains to try and shield the stranded troops the RAF deploys its latest fighter plane to try and shield the stranded troops the RAF deploys its latest fighter plane”
- 🇺🇸 USSimple HistoryClip #4 · @5:48
“own safety Kim ran through a blanket of machine gun fire with another seal picked up the injured Soldier and dragged him to the safety of a sheltered picked up the injured Soldier and”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @0:41
“he moves towards the bar area in the background the killer his machine gun clearly visible he follows the gun man to the beach as the gunman was on the loose visible he follows the gun man to the”
Definition & Meaning: “machine gun”
- Alternative spelling of machine gun.
- Alternative spelling of machine-gun.
Example Sentences (3)
- “The raids by machinegun toting police people on Gay bars in Montreal”
- “However, one group of Americans at the Embassy doesn’t creep around quivering in anxiety about being RPGed or machinegunned.”
- “machine gun fire or taking their own life rather than falling into captivity but vet was just a small part”
Pronounce: “machine gun”
- Pronunciation:
- mə-SHEEN-guhn
- Syllables:
- mə · SHEEN · guhn
- Written Hyphenation:
- ma · chine · gun
- Primary stress:
- SHEEN
- IPA:
- məˈʃiːn.ɡʌn
- Hear it in context
- machine gun
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"machine gun" (⁄məˈʃiːn.ɡʌn⁄) 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, "machine gun" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about machine gun
How do you pronounce “machine gun”?
“machine gun” is pronounced ⁄məˈʃiːn.ɡʌn⁄ (mə-SHEEN-guhn). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “machine gun”?
“machine gun” has 3 syllables: mə · SHEEN · guhn.
Where is the stress in “machine gun”?
The primary stress in “machine gun” is on “SHEEN”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “machine gun” mean?
Alternative spelling of machine gun.
How can I hear “machine gun” used in real sentences?
This page has 958 real-world video examples of “machine gun” 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 “machine gun”?
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⁄).