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Definition of vowel noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

vowel

noun
 
/ˈvaʊəl/
 
/ˈvaʊəl/
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  1. (phonetics) a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the tongue is not touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc., so that the flow of air is not limited, for example /ɑː, e, ɔː/
    • vowel sounds
    • Each language has a different vowel system.
    • This neutral vowel is known as ‘schwa’.
    see also cardinal vowel
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • long
    • short
    • open
    • …
    verb + vowel
    • begin with
    • contain
    • end in
    • …
    vowel + noun
    • sound
    • length
    • system
    • …
    See full entry
  2. a letter that represents a vowel sound. In English the vowels are a, e, i, o and u.Topics Languagea2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • long
    • short
    • open
    • …
    verb + vowel
    • begin with
    • contain
    • end in
    • …
    vowel + noun
    • sound
    • length
    • system
    • …
    See full entry
    3. compare consonant see also diphthong
    Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis (littera) ‘vocal (letter)’.
See vowel in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee vowel in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: vowel

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sufficiently
adverb
 
 
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