vocalize

UK: /ˈvəʊkəlaɪz/ US: /ˈvoʊkəˌlaɪz/ ,(vō′kə līz′)

Inflections of 'vocalize' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

vocalizes

v 3rd person singular (US & UK)

vocalizing

v pres p (US & UK)

vocalized

v past (US & UK)

vocalized

v past p (US & UK)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

vo•cal•ize /ˈvoʊkəˌlaɪz/   v., -ized, -iz•ing. 

1. to make vocal; to make or produce sounds;
   articulate: [~ + object]
   to vocalize one's objections.
   [no object]
   dolphins and chimpanzees vocalizing.
2. Music and Dance [no object] to sing;
   to sing without uttering words.

vo•cal•i•za•tion /ˌvoʊkələˈzeɪʃən/  n. 

[uncountable] the process of vocalization.

[countable] some strange vocalizations.

See -voc-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

vo•cal•ize  (vō′kə līz′), v., -ized, -iz•ing. 
v.t. 

1. to make vocal;
   utter;
   articulate;
   sing.
2. to endow with a voice;
   cause to utter.
3. Phonetics
   • to voice.
   • to change into a vowel (contrasted with consonantalize).
4. Linguistics (of Hebrew, Arabic, and other writing systems that do not usually indicate vowels) to furnish with vowels or vowel points.

v.i. 

5. Music and Dance, Phonetics to use the voice, as in speech or song.
6. Music and Dance to sing without uttering words, esp. to warm up the voice, practice vowel sounds, etc., before a performance.
7. Music and Dance to sing scales, arpeggios, trills, or the like, usually to a solmization syllable or a vowel sound.
8. Phonetics to become changed into a vowel.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] vocalise. 

• vocal + -ize 1660–70

vo′cal•i•za′tion, n. 
vo′cal•iz′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

vocalize, vocalise / ˈvəʊkəˌlaɪz/ verb

1. to express with or use the voice; articulate (a speech, song, etc)
2. (transitive) to make vocal or articulate
3. (transitive) to articulate (a speech sound) with voice
4. another word for vowelize
5. (intransitive) to sing a melody on a vowel, etc

ˌvocaliˈzation, ˌvocaliˈsation noun

ˈvocalˌizer, ˈvocalˌiser noun

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

vo•ca•lise¹  (vō′kə lēz′), n. 

1. Music, Music and Dance a musical composition consisting of the singing of melody with vowel sounds or nonsense syllables rather than text, as for special effect in classical compositions, in polyphonic jazz singing by special groups, or in virtuoso vocal exercises.
2. Music, Music and Dance any such singing exercise or vocalized melody. Cf. doo-wop, melisma, scat singing, solfeggio. 

• French vocalise, apparently noun, nominal derivative of vocaliser to vocalize, with -ise taken as a noun, nominal suffix (see -ise²)
• 1870–75

vo•cal•ise²  (vō′kə līz′), v.t., v.i., -ised, is•ing. 

1. Music and Dance [Chiefly Brit.] vocalize.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

vocalise / ˌvəʊkəˈliːz/ noun

1. a musical passage sung upon one vowel as an exercise to develop flexibility and control of pitch and tone; solfeggio