vector

American  

[vek-ter] / ˈvɛk tər /

noun

• vectors
  plural

1. Mathematics.

   1. a quantity possessing both magnitude and direction, represented by an arrow the direction of which indicates the direction of the quantity and the length of which is proportional to the magnitude.

   2. such a quantity with the additional requirement that such quantities obey the parallelogram law of addition.

   3. such a quantity with the additional requirement that such quantities are to transform in a particular way under changes of the coordinate system.

   4. any generalization of the above quantities.

2. the direction or course followed by an airplane, missile, or the like.

3. Biology.

   1. an insect or other organism that transmits a pathogenic fungus, virus, bacterium, etc.

   2. any agent that acts as a carrier or transporter, as a virus or plasmid that conveys a genetically engineered DNA segment into a host cell.

4. Computers. an array of data ordered such that individual items can be located with a single index or subscript.

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verb (used with object)

• vectors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• vectored,
  past participle,  past
• vectoring
  present participle

1. Aeronautics. to guide (an aircraft) in flight by issuing appropriate headings.

2. Aerospace. to change direction of (the thrust of a jet or rocket engine) in order to steer the craft.

vector British  

/ ˈvɛktə /

noun

1. Also called: polar vector.  maths a variable quantity, such as force, that has magnitude and direction and can be resolved into components that are odd functions of the coordinates. It is represented in print by a bold italic symbol: F or ̄F Compare pseudoscalar pseudovector scalar tensor

2. maths an element of a vector space

3. Also called: carrier.  pathol an organism, esp an insect, that carries a disease-producing microorganism from one host to another, either within or on the surface of its body

4. Also called: cloning vector.  genetics an agent, such as a bacteriophage or a plasmid, by means of which a fragment of foreign DNA is inserted into a host cell to produce a gene clone in genetic engineering

5. the course or compass direction of an aircraft

6. any behavioural influence, force, or drive

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verb

1. to direct or guide (a pilot, aircraft, etc) by directions transmitted by radio

2. to alter the direction of (the thrust of a jet engine) as a means of steering an aircraft

vector Scientific  

/ vĕk′tər /

1. A quantity, such as the velocity of an object or the force acting on an object, that has both magnitude and direction.

2. Compare scalar

3. An organism, such as a mosquito or tick, that spreads pathogens from one host to another.

4. A bacteriophage, plasmid, or other agent that transfers genetic material from one cell to another.

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vector Cultural  

1. In physics and mathematics, any quantity with both a magnitude and a direction. For example, velocity is a vector because it describes both how fast something is moving and in what direction it is moving. Because velocity is a vector, other quantities in which velocity is a factor, such as acceleration and momentum, are vectors also.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vectorial
  adjective
• vectorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vectors
  plural

Participles

• vectoring
  present
• vectored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vector
  simple
• vectors
  simple
• have vectored
  perfect
• has vectored
  perfect
• am vectoring
  progressive
• are vectoring
  progressive
• is vectoring
  progressive
• have been vectoring
  perfect progressive
• has been vectoring
  perfect progressive

Past

• vectored
  simple
• had vectored
  perfect
• was vectoring
  progressive
• were vectoring
  progressive
• had been vectoring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vector
  simple
• will have vectored
  perfect
• will be vectoring
  progressive
• will have been vectoring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of vector

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin: “carrier,” from vec- (variant stem of vehere “to carry”) + -tor -tor

Explanation

One definition of a vector is that of a carrier — it might be an insect like a mosquito that carries and transmits a bacterium or virus, or it might be some agent that carries genetically engineered DNA into a cell. Considering that the Latin word vector comes from the word vehere, which means "to carry," it's not surprising that the current use of the word also "carries" the same meaning. In fact, in computers, a vector is a method used to propagate a computer virus. However, the word vector is also used in various scientific areas, including mathematics, where it indicates something possessing both size and direction; and aeronautics, where it indicates a projectile's course.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vector vectors vectored vectoring

Last year, Orange County’s vector control detected West Nile virus in four mosquito pools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

I first came to wear the badge of foodie in college in the aughts, a time when the term meant leading with curiosity, a vector for discovering and exploring new cultures and ideas.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

AI adoption is another market vector building momentum.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026

Hurricanes turned out to be a vector for spreading the little winged bug.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

Max made a pouty face and spun around to face the shifting digital wallpaper behind him—currently a pattern of multicolored vector lines.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Searching for "secret information" that could help it cheat the evaluation, the OpenAI system "chained together multiple attack vectors, including using stolen credentials".

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Light possesses many characteristics that researchers can manipulate, including its intensity, phase, polarization, spin, and its electric and magnetic field vectors.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

A former Jack Smith prosecutor and a veteran corruption reporter map the vectors for lawlessness that many have missed.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

Mr. Shear, a New Yorker, has made a movie that has an intuitive understanding of how the city’s random vectors intersect with each other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

Ifx represents the vector of variables, b and c are vectors of known coefficients, and A is a matrix of coefficients, determine the maximum value of the objective function cTx .

From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman

You can feel the vectored torque tugging at the wheel as it fights off understeer in a tight turn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

“If that is the case it will raise questions about how it is vectored between such geographically separated sites.”

From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2023

Pentagon spokesman John Supple said the military has no reports of “aircraft being inappropriately vectored in the region mentioned” in the notice.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 8, 2023

“The results are plausible, and not very different to those seen with other AdV vectored products,” he said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 9, 2020

An F-47 aircraft on combat air patrol in the area was vectored in visually, spotted a light, and closed on it.

From The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Edward J. Ruppelt

Of the more than 3,500 mosquito species, only a few hundred are capable of vectoring disease.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2019

The upgrade includes an unusual positive-torque vectoring system on the rear axle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2018

The electric motors that independently drive the left and right front wheels also provide torque vectoring for all-wheel drive taken to a new level of cornering precision.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2016

A brake torque vectoring system similar to the one on the Volkswagen GTI pulses all four wheels to keep Alltrack’s trajectory true.

From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2016

The reporters and photographers were asked to leave the radar room on the pretext that classified radio frequencies and procedures were being used in vectoring the interceptors.

From The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Edward J. Ruppelt