vice

B1 Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /ˈvaɪs/ UK /vaɪs/ See IPA manual

Homophones

vise /vaɪs/

Freq #3134

Meanings

1

noun
Bad or immoral behavior, or a bad habit.

Gambling was his only real vice.
2

noun
Criminal activities involving things such as drugs and prostitution.

The police set up a unit to tackle vice in the city.
3

adj
Ranking just below another person in authority; deputy.

She was elected vice president of the club.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms vices

Related forms addiction habit racket racketeering vicious vitiatevitiligovituperate

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Vice has two unrelated origins. The word for immorality comes from Latin vitium, “vice,” which also produced vicious. The name of the gripping tool came through Old French vis from Latin vitis, “vine”; it originally denoted a screw or winch, named from the spiral growth of a vine’s tendrils.

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw.

vice Middle English vitium Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment

External links

# vice

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvaɪs/
**IPA (UK):** /vaɪs/
**Frequency rank:** 3134

## Meanings
1. Bad or immoral behavior, or a bad habit.
2. Criminal activities involving things such as drugs and prostitution.
3. Ranking just below another person in authority; deputy.

## Examples
- Gambling was his only real vice.
- The police set up a unit to tackle vice in the city.
- She was elected vice president of the club.

## Related Forms
- addiction
- habit
- racket
- racketeering
- vicious
- vitiate
- vitiligo
- vituperate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vice
- Root: vitium

## Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw.

## AI Etymology
Vice is from Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw. Important historical forms include Middle English vice, Old French vice, and Latin vitium. In present-day use, it can mean bad or immoral behavior, or a bad habit, or criminal activities involving things such as drugs and prostitution. Related words include addiction, habit, racket, racketeering, vicious.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment

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