Meaning & use
vowel
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Meanings
nouncountable
A speech sound produced without blocking the flow of air, or a letter that represents such a sound.
Grammar: Countable: a vowel, two vowels. Often used with 'sound' or 'letter' to clarify.
Patterns
- a vowel sound
- a vowel letter
The word 'cat' has one vowel sound.
In English, the letters a, e, i, o, u are vowels.
She had trouble pronouncing the vowel in 'bird'.
nouncountable
A letter of the alphabet that represents such a sound, especially a, e, i, o, u.
Grammar: Often used in plural: vowels. The letter 'y' can sometimes act as a vowel.
Patterns
- the vowel 'a'
- a short vowel
- a long vowel
The word 'sky' ends with a vowel sound, though it is written with 'y'.
Children learn to recognize vowels before consonants.
The vowel 'e' is silent in 'cake'.
Word forms
| plural | vowels |
|---|
Common combinations
- vowel sound
- The vowel sound in 'see' is long.
- vowel letter
- A, E, I, O, U are vowel letters.
- short vowel
- The word 'bit' has a short vowel.
- long vowel
- The word 'bite' has a long vowel.
- vowel harmony
- Turkish uses vowel harmony in word formation.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- vocalic adjective
- Relating to or consisting of vowels.
- vowelize verb
- To supply with vowels or vowel points.
Commonly confused: vowel or consonant?
vowel vs consonant
A consonant is a speech sound made by blocking airflow, while a vowel is made without blocking.
Practice
How many vowel sounds are in the word 'banana'?
Choose one answer.
The word 'banana' has three vowel sounds: /ə/, /æ/, /ə/ (or similar depending on accent).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vowel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.