vice [vicevicesvicedvicing] BrE [vaɪs] NAmE [vaɪs] noun 1. uncountable criminal activities that involve sex or drugs •plain-clothes detectives from the vice squad 2. uncountable, countable evil or immoral behaviour; an evil or immoral quality in sb's character •The film ended most satisfactorily: vice punished and virtue rewarded. •Greed is a terrible vice. • (humorous)Cigarettes are my only vice. 3. (BrE) (NAmE vise)countable a tool with two metal blocks that can be moved together by turning a screw. The vice is used to hold an object firmly while work is done on it •He held my arm in a vice-like (= very firm) grip. See also: ↑vise
Word Origin: senses 1 to 2 Middle English Old French Latin vitium sense 3 Middle English Old French vis Latin vitis ‘vine’
Example Bank: •He used his inheritance to indulge his vices of drinking and gambling. •At the door were two plain-clothes detectives from the vice squad. •Of his many vices, his cruelty was the worst. •She often spends a fortune on clothes— it's her greatest vice. •The bright 21-year-old turned to a secret life of vice after getting bored with her studies at college. •The occasional cigar is my only vice.
