1. speech sounds produced without blocking the flow of air from the lungs, typically forming the center of syllables
Usage: linguistics
2. letters of the alphabet that represent vowel sounds, typically a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y

Examples

• The English language has five main vowels: a, e, i, o, and u.
• Children learn to identify vowels and consonants in kindergarten.
• The word ‘beautiful’ contains four vowels.
• Some languages have more vowels than English does.
• Y can act as both a vowel and a consonant depending on its position.
• Short vowels are easier for beginning readers to recognize.
• The teacher asked students to circle all the vowels in the sentence.