HOW TO PRONOUNCE
bourbon
/ˈbɝbən/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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BUR-bun: give the first syllable the stress.
The first vowel is r-colored, as in “bird.” Keep the second vowel light, rather than giving both written ou and o full vowel sounds.
2 syllables · Stress on syllable 1
TRY SAYING
“The recipe calls for a small splash of bourbon.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗What does bourbon mean?
noun
- A whiskey distilled in the United States from a mixture of grains in which at least 51% is corn, aged in charred, new oak barrels.
- A serving of bourbon whiskey.
- A Bourbon biscuit.
More meanings (9)
proper noun
- A European dynasty which reigns in Spain and formerly ruled the Kingdom of France.
- A surname from French.
- A county in Kentucky, see Bourbon County.
- A street in New Orleans, Louisiana; in full, Bourbon Street.
- A town in Indiana.
- A city in Missouri.
- (historical) A Bourbon Democrat.
- (historical) A white conservative, particularly in the context of opposition to equal rights for black people.
- (obsolete) The island of Réunion.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈbɝbən/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
Still, the House of Bourbon should have felt, from the displeasure created by the gift, that it did not come from it.
Our collections, however, contain pieces of trunks of palm-trees, enclosed and penetrated by the very liquid lava of the isle of Bourbon.
More book examples (3)
Ralph's happy ideas are somewhat sinister, but the couple set out nevertheless for the Isle of Bourbon in search of a propitious waterfall.
The chapel was filled with devout worshippers of every class, from the officials in court dress, representing the Bourbon king, down to the lowest lazzaroni.
The sporting blood and Bourbon high-balls of the father and the mother's love of the good things of life more than neutralized the latter's Methodism.