Received Pronunciation

American  

noun

1. the pronunciation of British English considered to have the widest geographical distribution and the fewest regional peculiarities, originally the pronunciation of educated speakers in southern England and traditionally that used in the public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge universities, adopted by many speakers elsewhere in England and widely used in broadcasting. RP

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Received Pronunciation British  

noun

1.  RP.  the accent of standard Southern British English

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Etymology

Origin of Received Pronunciation

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025

Thirdly, Shakespeare wouldn't have spoken in Received Pronunciation himself.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2022

I was born in Manchester, England, and therefore sound nothing like the American stereotype of Brits gleaned from murder mysteries or “Downton Abbey” — upright, uptight speakers of clipped Received Pronunciation.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 21, 2020

Hearing him run rings round the clipped Received Pronunciation interrogation of the questioners fills a northern chest with a "Stick that in your pipe!" pride.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2013

Note to British and Commonwealth readers: that's /berk'lee/, not /bark'lee/ as in British Received Pronunciation.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.