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# vice

«vice» in Mova's school dictionary: **A bad habit or a wrong way of behaving** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a vice, vices); noun (UK vice, US vise = tool); prefix (vice-)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A bad habit or a wrong way of behaving. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#m1)

2) Serious crime such as illegal gambling. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#m2)

3) (UK; US «vise») A tool with two jaws that holds something firmly while you work on it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#m3)

4) (prefix «vice-») Next in rank below the top person: vice-captain, vice president. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In stories and old fables: virtues and vices; a character's vice (greed, laziness) causes trouble. In design and technology lessons: clamp wood in a vice before sawing. At school: vice-captain, vice-principal. Phrases: «a grip like a vice», «vice-captain».

### examples

- Greed was the king's worst vice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x1)
- Chocolate is my only vice, laughed Mum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x2)
- Clamp the wood in the vice before you saw it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x3)
- She was chosen as vice-captain of the netball team. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x4)
- His hand gripped mine like a vice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x5)
- The vice-principal took the assembly today. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x6)
- He is a great teacher, a corrector of morals, a censor of vice, and a commender of virtue. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/#x7)

### note

The tool is spelt «vice» in the UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ and «vise» in the USA. Opposite of a vice (habit) is a virtue. «Vice versa» (the other way round) is a different phrase.

### In the corpora

- [Virtues are good habits such as honesty and courage; vices are bad habits such as greed and cruelty.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/37-rules-consequences-character/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «vice» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vice/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.