vail
/veɪl/verb
vail is spelled V-A-I-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “vail vs veil” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, vail means “To lower or “dip” a carried flag or banner in a salute by a forward reducing of the angle of the pike/flagstaff with respect to the ground; in…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in vail?
| Letters | 4: V-A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 26,776th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is vail?
Vail appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce vail?
- /veɪl/
Vail has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-vail.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with vail
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: vale, veil (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: veil.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with vail?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as vail.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: vial, vila, vali.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of vail
- vails present, singular, he/she/it
- vailing participle, present
- vailed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo lower, let fall; to allow or cause to sink.
Then let them vale a bonet of their proud ſayle,
- 2
To lower or “dip” a carried flag or banner in a salute by a forward reducing of the angle of the pike/flagstaff with respect to the ground; in extreme instances, as when saluting a monarch, both the banner and the finial of the pike are allowed to rest upon the ground.
- 3
obsoleteTo lower a sail, in salute or otherwise.
- 4
obsoleteTo remove as a sign of deference, as a hat.
- 5
obsoleteTo pay homage, bow, submit, defer (to someone or something); to yield, give way (to something).
noun
- 1
obsoleteProfit; return; proceeds.
- 2
obsoleteMoney given to servants by visitors; a gratuity; also vale.
- 3
obsoleteSubmission.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does vail come from?
From Middle English valen; either from Anglo-Norman valer or a clipping of avalen. Compare avale.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).