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vice

Pronunciation: /vaɪs/

The English word “vice” has 9 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Bad or immoral behaviour. (Especially often, a habit that harms oneself or others)
  2. Any of various crimes related (depending on jurisdiction) to weapons, prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.
  3. A defect in the temper or behaviour of a horse, such as to make the animal dangerous, to injure its health, or to diminish its usefulness.
  4. A tool for drawing lead into cames, or flat grooved rods, for casements.
  5. A winding or spiral staircase.
  6. A grip or grasp.
  7. One who acts in place of a superior.

adjective

  1. in place of; subordinate to; designating a person below another in rank

preposition

  1. Instead of; in place of; versus.

Etymology

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

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.