English pronunciation
How to pronounce “detective”
Phonetic spelling
dih-TEK-tiv
IPA /dɪˈtɛktɪv/
Syllable stress
dih·tek·tiv
Stress falls on the highlighted syllable.
How do you spell “detective”?
d e t e c t i v e
“detective” is spelled D-E-T-E-C-T-I-V-E. It is pronounced dih-TEK-tiv, so the spelling and the sound do not match letter for letter. Listen to the audio above and say it aloud while you read the letters.
Hear it in a sentence
The detective solved the mystery quickly.
She hired a private detective to find her missing cat.