vise
/vaɪs/noun, verb
vise is spelled V-I-S-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “vice vs vise” about 1,300 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, vise means “An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vise is vises or visés.
How many letters and syllables are in vise?
| Letters | 4: V-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
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).
How common is vise?
Vise appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th 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 vise?
- /vaɪs/
Vise 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: En-us-vice.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with vise
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: vice (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: vice.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of vise
- vises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- vice
- vising participle, present
- vised participle, past
- viseing participle, present
- visés plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- viséing participle, present
- viséed participle, past
- viséd participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USAn instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing.
- 2
A situation in which one's freedom of choice is constrained.
- 3
obsoleteA screw.
- 4
obsoleteA spiral staircase.
verb
- 1
To clamp with or as with a vise.
- 2
Alternative form of visé.
noun
- 1
archaicvisa.
verb
- 1
archaicTo examine and endorse (a passport, etc.); to visa.
Russian consuls everywhere have been instructed to visé passports of geologists presenting membership cards, which will also facilitate matters at the frontier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense two-jawed instrument for holding work:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étau |
| German | Schraubstock |
| Portuguese | torno, morsa |
| Spanish | tornillo de banco, morsa (Arg., Uru.) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does vise come from?
From Middle English vis, vys, vice (“screw”), from Anglo-Norman vyz, vice, from Old French vis (“screw”), from Latin vītis f (“vine”). Probably akin to English withe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).