vocal

Late Middle English vocal, borrowed from Latin vōcālis (“uttering a voice, sounding, speaking”), from vōx (“a voice, sound, tone”) +‎ -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of vowel and vocalis. Compare Old French vocal.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvəʊ.kəl/

  • Audio (Received Pronunciation):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvoʊ.kəl/
• Rhymes: -əʊkəl

vocal (comparative more vocal, superlative most vocal)

1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling the human voice or speech.

   vocal problems

   1. (anatomy) Used in the production of speech sounds.

      vocal apparatus

   2. (music) Relating to, composed or arranged for, or sung by the human voice.
   3. (phonetics) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng.

      Synonyms: sonant, intonated, voiced

   4. (phonetics) Synonym of vocalic.
2. Uttered or modulated by the voice; expressed in words.

   Synonyms: oral, audible

   Antonyms: inaudible, quiet, silent, voiceless

   vocal melody, vocal prayer, vocal worship

   1. Expressing opinions or feelings freely, loudly, or insistently.

      Synonyms: outspoken, loud, audible

      Antonyms: inaudible, quiet, silent

      The protesters were very vocal in their message to the mayor.

      • 2025 February 19, Paul Clifton, “I am absolutely committed to reforming the railway”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 41:

        Hendy has come out as something of an evangelist for discontinuous electrification. For Waterloo-Exeter, this could make real sense on a route where the high capital cost of wiring or third rail all the way to Devon would be prohibitive. But what about his vocal support for it on East West Rail, which is effectively a brand new line?

   2. Having or exercising the power of producing voice, speech, or sound.

      Synonym: spoken

      • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:

        To hill or valley, fountain, or fresh shade,
        Made vocal by my song.

      • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XIX”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 32:

        The tide flows down, the wave again
        ⁠Is vocal in its wooded walls:
        ⁠My deeper anguish also falls,
        And I can speak a little then.

   3. Synonym of expressive.
   4. Full of voices.

      Synonym: resounding

vocal (plural vocals)

1. (phonetics) A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic.

   Coordinate terms: subvocal, nonvocal

2. (music) A part of a piece of music that is sung.

   Synonym: song

   Hyponyms: backup vocals, lead vocals

   • 1975, Billboard, volume 87, number 24, page 50:

     Best cuts: "The Evil Dude," "Kung Fu, Too!" "Mama Love," "New Orleans" (with a punchy vocal by Teresa Brewer).

   1. (acting) A musical performance involving singing.
3. (Catholicism) A man in the Roman Catholic Church who has a right to vote in certain elections.

• gang vocal
• off vocal
• vocalic
• vocalese

• voice
• vowel

• “vocal”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “vocal”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Borrowed from Latin vōcālis.

vocal f (plural vocales)

1. (grammar) A vowel.

• voz

Borrowed from Latin vōcālis.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [buˈkal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [voˈkal]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Homophones: bocal, bucal (Central)
• Rhymes: -al

vocal m or f (masculine and feminine plural vocals)

1. vocal

• veu

vocal f (plural vocals)

1. vowel

• vocàlic

• “vocal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “vocal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “vocal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “vocal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Inherited from Old French vocal, borrowed from Latin vōcālis. Doublet of voyelle.

• IPA^(key): /vɔ.kal/
• Homophones: vocale, vocales

vocal (feminine vocale, masculine plural vocaux, feminine plural vocales)

1. vocal, related to the voice

• → Turkish: vokal

• “vocal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Ellipsis of message vocal. Compare Italian vocale.

• IPA^(key): /vɔ.kal/

vocal m (plural vocaux)

1. (slang) voice message
   • T'inquiètes, je t'envoies un vocal pour t'expliquer.

     Don't worry, I'm gonna send you a voice message to explain it to you.

• "vocal", Dictionnaire des francophones [1]

Borrowed from Latin vōcālis.

vocal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular vocale)

1. vocal (relating to a voice or voices)

• French: vocal
• → Middle English: vocal
  • English: vocal

Learned borrowing from Latin vōcālis. Doublet of vogal. By surface analysis, voz +‎ -al.

• Homophones: bocal (Porto), bucal (Porto)
• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: vo‧cal

vocal m or f (plural vocais)

1. vocal (of or relating to the voice or speech)
2. vocal (uttered or modulated by the voice)

• vocalmente

vocal m or f by sense (plural vocais)

1. vocalist (singer in a band)

   Synonym: vocalista

• vogal
• voz

• “vocal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “vocal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French vocal, from Latin vocalis.

vocal m or n (feminine singular vocală, masculine plural vocali, feminine/neuter plural vocale)

1. vocal

Learned borrowing from Latin vōcālis.

• IPA^(key): /boˈkal/ [boˈkal]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: vo‧cal

vocal f (plural vocales)

1. vowel

vocal m or f by sense (plural vocales)

1. voter, member with vote rights

• → Cebuano: bokal

vocal m or f (masculine and feminine plural vocales)

1. by means of the voice
2. related to the voice
3. using the voice

• Appendix:Spanish nouns that have different meanings depending on their gender

• “vocal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• clavo