vice president

American  

[vahys prez-i-duhnt] / ˈvaɪs ˈprɛz ɪ dənt /

Or vice-president

noun

• vice presidents
  plural

1. an officer next in rank to a president who serves as president in the president's absence.

2. an officer next in rank to a president who serves as a deputy to the president or oversees a special division or function.

3. U.S. Government. the officer of this rank who is elected at the same time as the president and who succeeds to the presidency upon the resignation, removal, death, or disability of the president.

   Lincoln's first vice president was Hannibal Hamlin.

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vice president British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: VP, V. Pres. an officer ranking immediately below a president and serving as his deputy. A vice president takes the president's place during his absence or incapacity, after his death, and in certain other circumstances

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Usage

Why is the term vice president in the news? On August 11, 2020, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announced he selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate for the 2020 presidential election.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vice presidency
  noun
• vice-presidency
  noun
• vice presidential
  adjective
• vice-presidential
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vice presidents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vice president

First recorded in 1565–75

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vice president

They were also supposed to draft new member education plans with Cornell’s vice president of student life, and employ live-in advisers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

There’s a gravitational pull that we’ve been resisting ever since we made the president a big role, and then placed one of our leads in the role of vice president.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Grandparents are a key component to the housing market,” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at NAR, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro's vice president, took power after his ouster.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Burr had alienated Jefferson and the triumphant Republican party by his disloyalty as a vice president and had lost by a landslide in his bid to become a Federalist governor of New York.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

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