How to pronounce "pickaxes" in English
ˈpɪkˌæksɪz
PIK·ak·siz
Primary stress: PIK
Hear native speakers say pickaxes in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “pickaxes”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
PIK
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
ak
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
siz
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("PIK"). 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 "pickaxes" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "pickaxes is" sounds like "pickaxes-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "pickaxes" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“If we want to be better parents, we have to buy more pickaxes.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“The Whitechapel crews used pressurized water, pickaxes, and shovels to chop up that giant fatberg, for example.”— SciShowWatch clip
“And they were carved in volcanic rock with pickaxes.”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“I don't think that chamber has evolved because of me and my backhoe and my crew of students with pickaxes, but instead because when there's flooding,”— TEDWatch clip
“And then eventually you get to make things like pickaxes, for instance-- so giving some context to what the players are doing.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“search for gold, hoping to strike it rich, just as prospectors did with their pickaxes and shovels more than a century ago.”— Smithsonian ChannelWatch clip
Practice Speaking “pickaxes”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
If we want to be better parents, we have to buy more pickaxes.
Hear it in context: “pickaxes”
32 clipsThe English word “pickaxes” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˈpɪkˌæksɪz (phonetic respelling: PIK-ak-siz). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (PIK · ak · siz), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (PIK). Grammatically, “pickaxes” 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 32 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “pickaxes” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TEDx Talks, SciShow, Harvard University.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #1 · @5:36
“being about us. If we want to be better parents, we have to buy more pickaxes. We have to come to buy more pickaxes. We have to come”
- 🇺🇸 USSciShowClip #2 · @4:47
“apart into removable chunks. The Whitechapel crews used pressurized water, pickaxes, and shovels to chop up that giant fatberg, for example. pickaxes, and shovels to chop up that”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #3 · @37:07
“and now they are used for cheese. And they were carved in volcanic rock with pickaxes. Volcanic rock is wonderful for cheese”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDClip #4 · @7:40
“after eight hours of hacking away at the rock with pickaxes. I don't think that chamber has evolved because of me and my backhoe and my crew of students with pickaxes, but instead because when there's flooding, and my crew of students with pickaxes,”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #5 · @49:21
“that you solved that previous problem. And then eventually you get to make things like pickaxes, for instance-- so giving some context to what the players are doing. like pickaxes, for instance-- so giving some context to what”
Definition & Meaning: “pickaxes”
- Alternative spelling of pickaxe.
- Alternative spelling of pickaxe.
Example Sentences (2)
- “If we want to be better parents, we have to buy more pickaxes. We have to come”
- “The Whitechapel crews used pressurized water, pickaxes, and shovels to chop up that giant fatberg, for example.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “pickaxes”
- Pronunciation:
- PIK-ak-siz
- Syllables:
- PIK · ak · siz
- Written Hyphenation:
- pick · ax · es
- Primary stress:
- PIK
- IPA:
- ˈpɪkˌæksɪz
- Hear it in context
- pickaxes
Words that Rhyme with “pickaxes”
-ɪkˌæksɪzWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"pickaxes" (⁄ˈpɪkˌæksɪz⁄) 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, "pickaxes" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about pickaxes
How do you pronounce “pickaxes”?
“pickaxes” is pronounced ⁄ˈpɪkˌæksɪz⁄ (PIK-ak-siz). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “pickaxes”?
“pickaxes” has 3 syllables: PIK · ak · siz.
Where is the stress in “pickaxes”?
The primary stress in “pickaxes” is on “PIK”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “pickaxes” mean?
Alternative spelling of pickaxe.
How can I hear “pickaxes” used in real sentences?
This page has 32 real-world video examples of “pickaxes” 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 “pickaxes”?
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⁄).