/ vɔɪs; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
SOUND FROM MOUTH
1.
[ C , U ] the sound or sounds produced through the mouth by a person speaking or singing :
I could hear voices in the next room.
to speak in a deep / soft / loud / quiet, etc. voice
'I promise,' she said in a small voice (= a quiet, shy voice) .
to raise / lower your voice (= to speak louder / more quietly)
Keep your voice down (= speak quietly) .
Don't take that tone of voice with me!
Her voice shook with emotion.
'There you are,' said a voice behind me.
When did his voice break (= become deep like a man's) ?
He was suffering from flu and had lost his voice (= could not speak) .
She has a good singing voice.
She was in good voice (= singing well) at the concert tonight.
-VOICED
2.
(in adjectives) having a voice of the type mentioned :
low-voiced
squeaky-voiced
OPINION
3.
[ sing. ] voice (in sth) the right to express your opinion and influence decisions :
Employees should have a voice in the decision-making process.
4.
[ C ] a particular attitude, opinion or feeling that is expressed; a feeling or an opinion that you become aware of inside yourself :
He pledged that his party would listen to the voice of the people.
Very few dissenting voices were heard on the right of the party.
the voice of reason / sanity / conscience
'Coward!' a tiny inner voice insisted.
GRAMMAR
5.
[ sing. ] the active / passive ~ the form of a verb that shows whether the subject of a sentence performs the action ( the active voice) or is affected by it ( the passive voice )
PHONETICS
6.
[ U ] sound produced by movement of the vocal cords used in the pronunciation of vowels and some consonants
—see also voiced , voiceless
•
IDIOMS
- give voice to sth
- make your voice heard
- with one voice
—more at find verb , sound noun , still adjective , top noun
■ verb
[ vn ]
GIVE OPINION
1.
to tell people your feelings or opinions about sth :
to voice complaints / criticisms / doubts / objections, etc.
A number of parents have voiced concern about their children's safety.
PHONETICS
2.
to produce a sound with a movement of your vocal cords as well as your breath
—compare unvoiced , voiceless
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French vois , from Latin vox , voc- .