How to pronounce "sinkholes" in English
sin·kho·les
Hear native speakers say sinkholes in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “sinkholes”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
sin
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
kho
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
les
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Keep the vowel length balanced, placing subtle emphasis on the root morpheme according to standard conversational rhythm.
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 "sinkholes" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "sinkholes is" sounds like "sinkholes-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "sinkholes" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“While sinkholes are hard to anticipate, we do have some ways to get clues about when and where they’ll form.”— SciShowWatch clip
“Sinkholes can seem to strike out of nowhere, collapsing roads or even whole city blocks in a flash.”— TED-EdWatch clip
“sinkholes, broken pavements just so that she can get to the bus stop.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“sinkholes around every corner there's a solid mile that is covered in loose legos oh come on and no one is allowed to wear shoes the”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“sinkholes i've observed the sinkholes that have developed as a result of fracking they actually take a large quantity of”— 7 News SpotlightWatch clip
“hearing about sinkholes what do you know about that yes uh north from here closer to the city of”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “sinkholes”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
While sinkholes are hard to anticipate, we do have some ways to get clues about when and where they’ll form.
Hear it in context: “sinkholes”
91 clipsThe English word “sinkholes”. Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (sin · kho · les). Grammatically, “sinkholes” 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 91 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “sinkholes” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from SciShow, TED-Ed, TEDx Talks.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USSciShowClip #1 · @1:08
“Then soil erodes and falls from the ceiling until it collapses in on itself. While sinkholes are hard to anticipate, we do have some ways to get clues about when and where they’ll form. we do have some ways to get clues about when and where they’ll form.”
- 🇺🇸 USTED-EdClip #2 · @0:28
“and a luckily unoccupied multi-million-dollar mansion. Sinkholes can seem to strike out of nowhere, collapsing roads or even whole city blocks in a flash. collapsing roads or even whole city blocks in a flash.”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #3 · @2:23
“careful in navigating around potholes, sinkholes, broken pavements just so that she can get to the bus stop. just so that she can get to the bus”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #4 · @1:02
“that they are ferocious there are cliffs of fire and giant sinkholes around every corner there's a solid mile that is covered in loose legos oh come on and no one is allowed to wear shoes the legos oh come on and no one is allowed to wear shoes the”
- 🇺🇸 US7 News SpotlightClip #5 · @8:32
“gas mining or fracking is behind a new wave of sinkholes i've observed the sinkholes that have developed as a result of fracking they actually take a large quantity of developed as a result of fracking they actually take a large quantity of”
Definition & Meaning: “sinkholes”
- A hole formed in soluble rock by the action of water, serving to conduct surface water to an underground passage.
- A depressed area in which waste or drainage collects.
- To configure as a sinkhole (domain name server that gives non-routeable addresses).
Example Sentences (3)
- “A sinkhole suddenly opened up beneath the track of a heavy freight route in the eastern United States. Golfers playing the 13th hole at Hartford, Connecticut, had a new obstacle to tackle: a section of track suspended in mid-air after heavy rainfall in the aftermath of Storm Ida.”
- “While sinkholes are hard to anticipate, we do have some ways to get clues about when and where they’ll form.”
- “Sinkholes can seem to strike out of nowhere, collapsing roads or even whole city blocks in a flash.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “sinkholes”
- Syllables:
- sin · kho · les
- Hear it in context
- sinkholes
Synonyms: “sinkholes”
Hear words related in meaning to “sinkholes” in real video clips:
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"sinkholes" 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, "sinkholes" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about sinkholes
How many syllables are in “sinkholes”?
“sinkholes” has 3 syllables: sin · kho · les.
What does “sinkholes” mean?
A hole formed in soluble rock by the action of water, serving to conduct surface water to an underground passage.
How can I hear “sinkholes” used in real sentences?
This page has 91 real-world video examples of “sinkholes” 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 “sinkholes”?
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⁄).