vowel

American  

[vou-uhl] / ˈvaʊ əl /

noun

1. Phonetics.

   1. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (consonant ).

   2. (in a syllable) the sound of greatest sonority, as i in grill.

   3. (in linguistic function) a concept empirically determined as a phonological element in structural contrast with consonant, as the (ē) of be (bē), we (wē), and yeast (yēst).

2. a letter representing or usually representing a vowel, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a vowel.

vowel British  

/ ˈvaʊəl /

noun

1. phonetics a voiced speech sound whose articulation is characterized by the absence of friction-causing obstruction in the vocal tract, allowing the breath stream free passage. The timbre of a vowel is chiefly determined by the position of the tongue and the lips

2. a letter or character representing a vowel

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Other Word Forms

• vowel-less adjective
• vowel-like adjective
• vowelless adjective
• vowellike adjective
• vowelly adverb
• vowely adverb

Etymology

Origin of vowel

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French vowel < Latin vōcālis vocal

Example Sentences

With her original, breathy way of speaking, stressing odd syllables and stretching random vowels to the breaking point, her mad fashions and family of wigs, Moira is a sketch character with depth.

From Los Angeles Times

I write out his name, letter by letter—ALFREDO—and show him how to pronounce the vowels and the consonants.

From Literature

Its opening poem, “Digging,” feels earthbound with its low-pitched vowels: “Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Penelope tried to write Hereditary??? on her paper, but quickly lost patience with sorting out which vowels went where.

From Literature

“The way he finishes notes, the way he slurs into notes, the way vowels sound, the choices of sounds he uses in the lyrics he writes—it’s just clever,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• articulate
• choral
• operatic
• verbal