vowel
gb/vˈaʊəl/ us/vˈaʊəl/
A2
English
Senses
0 senses
Noun
technical
B1
entity
1
Speech sound with open airflow
A sound like /a/ or /i/ made without blocking the air in your mouth.
Usage pattern:
[a] vowel
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse vowel sounds (pronunciation) with vowel letters (spelling), and may think English has only five vowel sounds.
Synonyms
vocoid (Technical term in phonetics; less common in general English.)
Antonyms
consonant (A speech sound made with a stronger blockage or narrowing of airflow.)
Collocations
vowel sound
|pure vowel
|stressed vowel
|unstressed vowel
|vowel quality
|vowel length
|vowel reduction
|front vowel
|back vowel
|vowel system
Themes
language
|linguistics
|pronunciation
Examples
- In English, the vowel in “cat” is different from the vowel in “car.”
- When you hold the sound /iː/, you’re holding a vowel.
- The teacher asked the class to identify the vowel in each syllable.
Learner examples
- A vowel is a sound like /a/ or /o/.
- This word has two vowels.
Noun
A2
entity
2
Letter that represents a vowel
A letter like a, e, i, o, or u.
Usage pattern:
[a] vowel
Common mistake:
Learners may assume y is never a vowel, or may count letters as vowels even when they don’t make a vowel sound in a particular word.
Synonyms
vowel letter (More explicit; often used in teaching and phonics contexts.)
Antonyms
consonant (A letter typically representing a consonant sound.)
Collocations
vowel letters
|a vowel
|vowel in the middle
|vowel at the end
|double vowel
|vowel combination
|vowel pattern
|vowel spelling
|vowel chart
|vowels and consonants
Themes
language
|spelling
|writing
Examples
- The word “team” has three letters but only two vowels.
- Add a vowel to make a new word.
- In many alphabets, vowels and consonants are taught separately.
Learner examples
- A, E, I, O, and U are vowels.
- This name starts with a vowel.
Grammar
Dictionary form
vowel
IPA
GB/vˈaʊəl/
US/vˈaʊəl/
Syllables & stress
vow - el (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (vow)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: vowel
- Plural: vowels
Expressions
long vowel
1/lˈɔŋ vˈaʊəl/
fixed phrase
technical
Vowel that says its name
A vowel sound like the letter name, like a in “cake.”
Examples
- The a in “cake” is a long vowel.
- Silent e often helps create a long vowel sound.
- The lesson focuses on long vowels in one-syllable words.
short vowel
1/ʃˈɔɹt vˈaʊəl/
fixed phrase
technical
Brief vowel sound
A quick vowel sound, like the a in “cat.”
Examples
- The a in “cat” is a short vowel.
- Many beginners learn short vowels before long vowels.
- This worksheet practices short vowel words.
vowel harmony
1/vˈaʊəl hˈɑɹməni/
fixed phrase
technical
Vowels match within a word
A rule where vowels in a word follow a matching pattern.
Examples
- Turkish uses vowel harmony in many suffixes.
- Vowel harmony can determine which ending a word takes.
- The textbook explains vowel harmony with several examples.
vowel letter
1/vˈaʊəl lˈɛtɚ/
fixed phrase
A, E, I, O, U (and sometimes Y)
A vowel used as a letter in spelling.
Examples
- Circle each vowel letter in the word list.
- The word ends with a vowel letter, but the last sound is a consonant.
- In “my,” the letter y is a vowel letter.
vowel shift
1/vˈaʊəl ʃˈɪft/
fixed phrase
technical
Systematic change in vowel pronunciation
A change in vowel pronunciation over time.
Examples
- Researchers described a vowel shift in the region’s accent.
- Several vowel shifts helped shape modern English pronunciation.
- The study tracks vowel shift across different generations.
vowel sound
1/vˈaʊəl sˈaʊnd/
fixed phrase
A spoken vowel
A vowel when you say it aloud.
Examples
- English has more vowel sounds than vowel letters.
- Listen carefully to the vowel sound in the stressed syllable.
- Two different spellings can make the same vowel sound.
vowel team
1/vˈaʊəl tˈim/
fixed phrase
technical
Two vowels making one sound
Two vowel letters that make one vowel sound.
Examples
- In “rain,” the letters ai form a vowel team.
- Vowel teams can represent several different sounds in English.
- The teacher introduced common vowel teams like ee and oa.