Three-term descriptions of vowel sounds are made up of three components: open or close, front or back, and round or spread. All of these distinctions refer to where the tongue moves in the mouth when the sound is made. The three-term description for the vowel sounds in each of these words may vary based on the dialect of the speaker.

That said, a best match for each sound is below, based on a standard American dialect:

Abide: The A sound in abide is a mid-central unrounded vowel. The I sound in "bide" is a dipthong. It is made up of an open front unrounded vowel and a near-close near-front unrounded vowel.

House: The vowel sound in 'house' is a dipthong. It is made up of an open front unrounded vowel and a near-close near-back rounded vowel.

Car: The vowel sound in 'car' is an open front unrounded vowel. (Depending on dialect, this may instead be a near open front unrounded vowel.)

Three words that might be used to describe vowel sounds in these words are: long, short and silent.

The word “abide” has a “long” vowel sound in the “i” and a “silent” “e” at the end. It is the “e” that follows the “d” that determines the long “i” sound. Car has a “single, short” vowel sound in the “a.” “House” also has a silent “e” at the end. The “ou” sound in “house” can be called a “diphthong” where two vowels are combined and the pronunciation glides from one to the other. This is sometimes called a moving vowel.

“Abide” also has the “schwa” sound. In pronunciations guides, the beginning “a” might be written as an upside down “e” which is a “schwa” in its phonetic spelling form. The “schwa” sound is the most common vowel sound in the English language. It is an unstressed and neutral sound.