Merriam-Webster lists both ˈrüt and ˈrau̇t as possible pronunciations for route but only ˈrau̇-tər for router.
Is it really wrong to pronounce router as 'rüter ?
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Sign up to join this communityMerriam-Webster lists both ˈrüt and ˈrau̇t as possible pronunciations for route but only ˈrau̇-tər for router.
Is it really wrong to pronounce router as 'rüter ?
There are two different kinds of things called a "router", with two different pronunciations, originating from two different verbs "route" and "rout". The confusing part of this is that the two pronunciations overlap the two different things.
A router as above (computer thing, from verb "route"), or anything else which routes something, is "rooter" or "rowter" depending on how you pronounce "route" (US English has both "root" and "rowt", British English has only "root")
A router (woodworking tool, from verb "rout", an electrical one is shown above) is "rowter", never "rooter", in both the US and the UK and other countries. The dictionary entry may be referring to the wood tool only.
Source: Oxford Online Dictionary & Cambridge Dictionary
The New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) reports that router has two different meanings.
router 1 /ˈraʊdər/
noun
A power tool with a shaped cutter, used in carpentry for making grooves for joints, decorative moldings, etc.
router 2 /ˈraʊdər/
noun
A device that forwards data packets to the appropriate parts of a computer network.
In both the cases, the pronunciation is the same.
As comparison, the pronunciation of route (as reported from the NOAD) is /rut/, /raʊt/; the pronunciation of rout is /raʊt/.
In British English, the word is pronounced /ˈraʊtə/ when it has the first meaning, and /ˈruːtə/ in the second case.
Where I live both things are called "rowter" even though we say "root" 66, so if they lived in the U.S. That would be standard. If they said "rooter" it might sound like a thing used to clean drains.
A router (rooter) routes. A router (rauter) routs.
To my ear, the American pronunciation is really grating.
I was born in the US. I pronounce the computer apparatus "rooter" as in "hooter". I just had a manager at work try to correct me today, but I stuck to my guns.
A rooter is used to clean pipes (specifically to remove roots, or other obstructions).
Because that pronunciation exists, router is pronounced as indicated in the other answers.
The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (CALD) does not include the word 'router'
However, the meaning of route has been described as the following:
route UK /rut/ US /rut/ , UK /raʊt/ noun [ C ]
- a particular way or direction between places The route we had planned took us right across Greece.
I live on a bus route so I can easily get to work.- a method of achieving something A college education is often the best route to a good job.
- US ( UK round ) a set of regular visits that you make to a number of places or people, especially in order to take products as part of your job
route UK /rut/ US /rut/ , UK /raʊt/ verb [ T usually + adv/prep ]
to send Deliveries are routed via/by way of London.
Since the CALD did not specify from which sound the word 'router' is originated, so my conclusion is 'router' can be pronounced as 'ruter' or 'rauter' according to UK pronunciation! However, if the company which produced the device pronounces it as a 'rauter' then it is 'rauter' otherwise it is 'ruter'.