postvocalic (adj.)

In PHONETICS and PHONOLOGY, a term describing a sound which follows a VOWEL. For example, /t/ is postvocalic in the word cat. ‘Postvocalic r’ refers to the use of an r quality after vowels in certain ACCENTS (e.g. in Scotland and most parts of the USA). There is a contrast with prevocalic, referring to a sound which precedes a vowel – /k/ in the word cat, for example. Some CONSONANTS are restricted to one position or the other: in English SYLLABLES, /h/ occurs only prevocalically, as in hot, and  only postvocalically, as in sing.