How to pronounce CBOR

CBOR is most commonly pronounced "SEE bore" (/ˈsiːbɔːr/). This is one of several readings in active use; the developer community hasn't converged on a single answer.

Concise Binary Object Representation, the binary data format defined in IETF RFC 8949 (used in COSE, WebAuthn attestation, CoAP/IoT). The RFC defines the expansion but gives no spoken form, so usage is split: many say it as one word 'SEE-bore' (C read as the letter, second syllable like 'bore' — roughly 'seaboard' minus the 'd'), while others spell it out 'C-B-O-R'. Compare the related token format CWT, which RFC 8392 explicitly says is pronounced like 'cot' — no such ruling exists for CBOR itself, leaving it genuinely contested. Stress on the first syllable in the word form (SEE-bore); on the final letter in the spelled-out form (see-bee-oh-AR).

Alternate readings you might hear:

• "see bee oh AR" /ˌsiːbiːoʊˈɑːr/

Source: IETF RFC 8949 — Concise Binary Object Representation

Pronouncing project and product names correctly avoids the small but persistent friction of being gently corrected during standups, conference Q&As, and team calls. Hearing the word a few times locks in the right reading better than reading IPA ever will. Pronounce is a community-maintained dictionary — every entry tagged with a confidence level and (where possible) a citable source.