Received Pronunciation

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

Received Pronunciation

noun

1. the accent of standard Southern British English RP

Word History and Origins

Origin of Received Pronunciation¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

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

From BBC

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

"In the interview with Harry, the same thing applies: the only point where I felt there was some Received Pronunciation creeping in was in the word 'roasting', where the vowel is central and not back."

From BBC

He became instantly recognisable, not least because his Yorkshire accent was at odds with the Received Pronunciation that was the norm in the 1960s BBC.

From BBC

In pursuing voice-over work, he had shed his northern accent in favor of the standard variant of British English known as “Received Pronunciation.”

From New York Times