Veep

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /viːp/

Definitions

1. An informal way to refer to the second highest leader in an organization or government, directly below the president or main leader
2. A casual term used to describe someone who serves as a deputy or vice president in a company, country, or political context
3. A slang expression for the person who is the immediate subordinate or alternative to the chief executive or president

Etymology: "Veep" is what you get when an abbreviation is read aloud the way it sounds. Written out, "VP" stands for "vice president," and spoken as a colloquial, humorous pronunciation of those two letters, it became "veep." The shortening is a sort of spoken shorthand: the letters are sounded out as a single syllable rather than being said one at a time. The word is informal and tends to appear in political talk, where it gives a casual, slightly playful tone to a title that might otherwise sound formal. Its modern association with high-level government office is the main reason it is recognized as a neat, almost affectionate nickname for the second-highest office in the United States.

Synonyms: vice president