vinyl

The word “vinyl” means a type of tough, flexible plastic, or a product made from it, such as flooring or upholstery. In plain terms, either a tough plastic material, or records (as opposed to CDs or streaming).

“Vinyl” is pronounced VEYE-nihl (/ˈvaɪ.nɪl/ in IPA).

Here is “vinyl” used in a sentence: “The kitchen floor was covered in grey vinyl.”

“Vinyl” is a noun.

The word “vinyl” comes from Latin. From Latin vīnum ("wine") + the chemical suffix -yl, because the vinyl group is chemically related to ordinary (ethyl) alcohol found in wine.

“Vinyl” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Vinyl” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a type of tough, flexible plastic, or a product made from it, such as flooring or upholstery.

Most record collectors treat vinyl as an uncountable noun: you buy vinyl, own records, or have a vinyl collection. "Vinyls" does appear in casual use, but it is widely considered nonstandard, so careful writers say "vinyl records" or simply "records" instead.

In music the two overlap: a record is the individual disc, while vinyl names the plastic it is made from and serves as a collective term for the format, as in "I collect vinyl." Vinyl also distinguishes the physical analogue format from digital music such as streaming or CDs.

In everyday product names such as vinyl flooring, vinyl siding, and vinyl upholstery, vinyl generally refers to PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a tough, flexible plastic. PVC is the chemical name, while vinyl is the common commercial term.