vowel

American  

[vau-uhl] / ˈvaʊ əl /

noun

• vowels
  plural

1. Phonetics.

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vowels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vowel

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

Explanation

Open your mouth and say “aaaaa.” There! You’ve just said a vowel. A vowel is a letter that represents an open sound. There are six vowels in the English language: a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. Y is sometimes a vowel, as in the word story although it also sometimes acts as a consonant, as in the word yes. The vocal sounds represented by vowels are open and without friction. The word vowel comes from the Old French voieul, which is based on the Latin phrase littera vocalis, or "vocal letter," from the root word vox, or "voice."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vowel vowels

“Non-rhotic speakers essentially say the ‘r’ sound only when it occurs before a vowel sound, but not when it occurs after a vowel,” Ms. Fridland says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

Even the word, beginning and ending with similar vowel qualities, evinces monotony.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2024

Llama 2 70b, which answered correctly 10% of the time, mistook the letter K for a vowel and so answered incorrectly.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024

"Blackburn still retains many other vowel features that make it unique, and changes like this often pave the way for further linguistic evolution in the future," she said.

From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2023

Exception 1.—When the final e is preceded by a vowel, it is sometimes omitted; as, due + ly = duly; true + ly = truly; whole + ly = wholly.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

To go American, Mielewska said it's all about getting the Rs and the vowels right.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

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 ● Jan. 30, 2026

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 ● Nov. 21, 2025

The event opened with boxing-style elongated vowels of Rickieeeeeeee Fowler and Shaaaaaaaaane Lowry as the six players were introduced.

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025

But my lips won’t come together to make even simple sounds like that, so most of my noises are vowels.

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

Related Words

• articulate
• choral
• operatic
• verbal