vessel

American  

[ves-uhl] / ˈvɛs əl /

noun

1. a craft for traveling on water, now usually one larger than an ordinary rowboat; a ship or boat.

2. an airship.

3. a hollow or concave utensil, as a cup, bowl, pitcher, or vase, used for holding liquids or other contents.

4. Anatomy, Zoology. a tube or duct, as an artery or vein, containing or conveying blood or some other body fluid.

5. Botany. a duct formed in the xylem, composed of connected cells that have lost their intervening partitions, that conducts water and mineral nutrients.

6. a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something, especially something nonmaterial.

   a vessel of grace;

   a vessel of wrath.

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vessel British  

/ ˈvɛsəl /

noun

1. any object used as a container, esp for a liquid

2. a passenger or freight-carrying ship, boat, etc

3. an aircraft, esp an airship

4. anatomy a tubular structure that transports such body fluids as blood and lymph

5. botany a tubular element of xylem tissue consisting of a row of cells in which the connecting cell walls have broken down

6. rare a person regarded as an agent or vehicle for some purpose or quality

   she was the vessel of the Lord

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vessel Scientific  

/ vĕs′əl /

1. A blood vessel.

2. A long, continuous column made of the lignified walls of dead vessel elements, along which water flows in the xylem of angiosperms.

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Other Word Forms

• unvesseled adjective
• vesseled adjective

Etymology

Origin of vessel

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French va(i)ssel, vessel, from Latin vāscellum, from vās “vessel” ( vase ) + -cellum, diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

But the most likely answer is that particles of pollution are "wiggling their way through the lining of the blood vessels and lodging in various organs".

From BBC

After Friday’s talks, the U.S. imposed sanctions on 15 entities, two people and 14 vessels involved in the illegal oil and petrochemical trade.

From The Wall Street Journal

It said it will be sanctioning multiple entities, individuals and vessels to “stem the flow of revenue that the regime in Tehran uses to support terrorism abroad and repress its citizens.”

From MarketWatch

The dead are placed in sealed vessels bedded with clover, hay and straw and equipped to regulate airflow, temperature and moisture.

From The Wall Street Journal

Researchers at Caltech and USC have created a new medical imaging approach that quickly produces 3D color images showing both the physical structure of soft tissue and how blood vessels are working.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• barge
• boat
• craft
• liner
• ocean liner
• tanker