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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

While the overall price tag of healthcare in retirement may seem daunting, the costs will likely be spread out over decades, noted Ryan Viktorin, a vice president and financial consultant with Fidelity.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

That could actually play to CXMT’s advantage, according to Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida told associates in the summer of 2024 that she knew Trump would choose Vance to be his vice president, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Signature-matching technology is now good enough to “make your head explode,” said David Gerber, the senior vice president at ParaScript, a company that sells such technology to banks and numerous entities conducting elections.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

It was difficult to think of the ever-combative, highly combustible champion of the American Revolution as extraneous and invisible, but that is what the vice presidency had made him.

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

I was looking forward to being with my friends, with people I could talk to and laugh with, but Danny said we had been summoned to the vice- principal’s office.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson suggested the central bank may need to hike rates if inflation doesn’t cool soon.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Some delays were due to shifts under the 2020 legislation that the FAA had to undertake for the first time, said Boeing Senior Vice President Mike Sinnett.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

At a separate military demonstration, Vice President JD Vance flew a Neros drone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

"DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke held their first in-depth talks with Jürgen Klopp in New York regarding his potential appointment as national team coach," said the DFB in a statement.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

I know, I know, it sounds like something you saw on "Miami Vice," but all I'm doing is repeating what I've heard from the family.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez