How to Pronounce Stethoscope

Say it like this: STETH-oh-skope. The first part rhymes with 'Seth,' then you add 'oh' (like the letter O), and finish with 'scope' (rhymes with 'hope'). The stress falls on the first syllable, so STETH gets said louder and faster than the rest.

Stethoscope has three syllables: STETH-o-scope. If you clap once for each syllable as you say the word, you'll clap three times total.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say 'steh-THOS-kope' or 'steth-oh-SKOPE,' putting the emphasis on the middle or end. Remember: the first syllable STETH is the loud one—STETH-oh-skope.

'Steth' comes from the Greek word for 'chest,' and 'scope' comes from the Greek word meaning 'to look' or 'to examine.' Put together, stethoscope literally means 'to look at or listen to the chest,' which is exactly what the instrument does.

In casual speech, healthcare workers might just call it a 'scope' or a 'stet' (pronounced like 'stet'), but 'stethoscope' is the full, correct medical term. On written documents and formal settings, you should use the full word.

Several medical words use 'scope' to mean 'an instrument for looking or listening': microscope (for looking at tiny things), otoscope (for looking in the ear), and endoscope (for looking inside the body). They all follow the same pattern of a root word plus 'scope.'

Here are two examples: 'The doctor placed the stethoscope on my chest to listen to my heart.' Or: 'A stethoscope is an essential tool that every clinician carries.' The word is a noun—it's the name of the actual device itself.

The word has three syllables that run together quickly, which can make it tricky to say smoothly. Also, because it's a longer word with multiple vowel sounds, people sometimes accidentally shift the stress to the middle or end instead of keeping it on the first syllable STETH.