Showing results for "vice"

• a variation of vise.

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• vice
  vice

  noun

  an immoral or evil habit or practice.
• vice-
  vice-

  a combining form meaning “deputy,” used in the formation of compound words, usually titles of officials who serve in the absence of the official denoted by the base word.
• Vice
  Vice

  noun

  (in English morality plays) a character personifying a particular vice or vice in general

vice

¹ American  

[vahys] / vaɪs /

noun

1. an immoral or evil habit or practice.

   These biblical verses cover the vices of boastfulness and pride, miserliness, and hypocrisy.

   Synonyms:

   depravity, wrong, wrongdoing, fault

   Antonyms:

   virtue

2. immoral conduct; depraved or degrading behavior.

   In the Christian religion there are numerous instances of sudden conversions from a life of vice to one of virtue.

   Synonyms:

   corruption, corruptness, badness, wickedness, iniquity, sin, immorality

   Antonyms:

   morality, virtue

3. sexual immorality, especially prostitution.

   Synonyms:

   licentiousness, degeneracy, wantonness

4. a particular form of depravity.

5. a fault, defect, or shortcoming.

   a minor vice in his literary style.

   Synonyms:

   weakness, foible, flaw, imperfection, blemish, stain

6. (of a horse’s behavior) a bad habit.

   Allowing your horse turnout in a paddock may prevent vices such as weaving or wood chewing normally observed in a stall.

7. Sometimes Vice vice squad.

   Detective Crockett was reassigned from the Robbery Division to Vice last year.

8. Vice, a character in the English morality plays, a personification of general vice or of a particular vice, serving as the buffoon.

9. Archaic. a physical defect, flaw, or infirmity.

   In most cases, attempts to relieve the symptoms will be of little avail without at the same time relieving or removing the constitutional vice which has induced this condition.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the vice squad, or to the threats to public order it is tasked to police, such as gambling, pornography, prostitution, and narcotics: the vice division of the police department.

   a vice cop;

   the vice division of the police department.

vice ² American  

[vahys] / vaɪs /

noun

viced, vicing

1. vise.

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vice ³ American  

[vahy-see, -suh, vahys] / ˈvaɪ si, -sə, vaɪs /

preposition

1. instead of; in the place of.

   The committee was reorganized, with Mr. Silver, vice Mr. Cooper, as the head.

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vice- ⁴ American  

1. a combining form meaning “deputy,” used in the formation of compound words, usually titles of officials who serve in the absence of the official denoted by the base word.

   viceroy; vice-chancellor.

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vice ¹ British  

/ vaɪs /

noun

1. an immoral, wicked, or evil habit, action, or trait

2. habitual or frequent indulgence in pernicious, immoral, or degrading practices

3. a specific form of pernicious conduct, esp prostitution or sexual perversion

4. a failing or imperfection in character, conduct, etc

   smoking is his only vice

5. obsolete pathol any physical defect or imperfection

6. a bad trick or disposition, as of horses, dogs, etc

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vice ² British  

/ vaɪs /

adjective

1. 1. (prenominal) serving in the place of or as a deputy for

   2. ( in combination )

      viceroy

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noun

1. informal a person who serves as a deputy to another

vice ³ British  

/ vaɪs /

noun

1. an appliance for holding an object while work is done upon it, usually having a pair of jaws

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verb

1. (tr) to grip (something) with or as if with a vice

Vice ⁴ British  

/ vaɪs /

noun

1. (in English morality plays) a character personifying a particular vice or vice in general

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vice ⁵ British  

/ ˈvaɪsɪ /

preposition

1. instead of; as a substitute for

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Synonym Usage

See fault.

Other Word Forms

• viceless
  adjective
• vicelike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of vice¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin vitium “a fault, defect, vice”

Origin of vice³

First recorded in 1760–70; from Latin: literally, “instead of,” ablative of vicis (genitive; not attested in nominative) “recurring action, turn, interchange, alternation”

Origin of vice-⁴

Middle English ≪ Latin vice vice ³

Explanation

A vice is a moral failing or a bad habit. Lying and cheating are both forms of vice. In the United States, municipal police departments often have a bureau dedicated to vice, manned by vice cops, whose job it is to fight crime related to alcohol, drugs, and gambling. But anything can be a vice, as long as there's someone out there who views it as bad behavior or a moral weakness. You might say, casually, "Chocolate ice cream is my vice. I eat it every day."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vice vice- Vice

What comes after “wine moms”: When Susannah Bradley was raising her young children, wine was many mom’s vice of choice to help them cope with the stresses of parenting.

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns and national vice president of UFW, said farmworkers began reporting the immigration enforcement patrols on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

When stocks linked to the booming artificial-intelligence trade have struggled, so-called “non-AI” stocks have ridden to the rescue, and vice versa.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

“For Geely, globalization is not a solo sprint,” Alex Nan, vice president of Geely Auto, told the audience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Although still serving as vice president under Jefferson, Burr realized that the Republicans intended to drop him from the ticket when Jefferson ran for his second term.

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

“What it comes down to is data quality,” said Jean-Charles Gordon, Kpler’s vice- president of maritime and logistics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

Also on Friday, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously to bolster Secret Service protection for presidential and vice- presidential candidates.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024

The most incensed response to the report came from Diosdado Cabello, the vice- president of Maduro’s party and the president of the National Constituent Assembly.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 23, 2019

Former senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the Democratic vice- presidential nominee in 2000 who later became an independent, also signed the letter.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 17, 2015

Curly wondered if Mother Paula’s vice- president for corporate relations had hung up on him.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

The warnings came after Vice Premier He Lifeng polled China’s biggest employers last year, and some estimated AI could wipe out 30% or more of their existing roles, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Vice President JD Vance said the universities being investigated are overusing J-1 visas to bring in students and researchers from abroad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that software giant Microsoft was being suspended from a key visa program as part of a fraud crackdown by President Donald Trump's administration.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo had in September lodged a formal complaint with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Vieshkin over the matter.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

In Dallas, Texas, for instance, the then Vice President and Mrs. Johnson were vulgarly insulted.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey