vowel

American  

[vou-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

Vowel sounds can also switch places, as when a speaker who meant "feed the pooch" said, "food the peach."

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2022

Still running — deadline Monday night, June 14: our Vowel Play contest for song titles.

From Washington Post • Jun. 10, 2021

Others see a weakening of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift.

From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2016

When indigenous writer and teacher Chelsea Vowel reads the comments on her articles, she feels physically ill.

From The Guardian • Dec. 4, 2015

Vowel sounds were not written out in Ancient Hebrew, so the accents and markings around the text indicated correct pronunciation and instructions for chanting.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• articulate
• choral
• operatic
• verbal