vehicle

American  

[vee-i-kuhl, vee-hi-] / ˈvi ɪ kəl, ˈvi hɪ- /

noun

1. any means in or by which someone travels or something is carried or conveyed; a means of conveyance or transport.

   a motor vehicle; space vehicles.

2. a conveyance moving on wheels, runners, tracks, or the like, as a cart, sled, automobile, or tractor.

3. a means of transmission or passage.

   Air is the vehicle of sound.

4. a carrier, as of infection.

5. a medium of communication, expression, or display.

   The novel is a fitting vehicle for his talents. Language is the vehicle of thought.

6. Theater, Movies. a play, screenplay, or the like, having a role suited to the talents of and often written for a specific performer.

7. a means of accomplishing a purpose.

   College is a vehicle for success.

8. Rhetoric. the thing or idea to which the subject of a metaphor is compared, as “rose” in “she is a rose.”

9. Pharmacology. a substance, usually fluid, possessing little or no medicinal action, used as a medium for active remedies.

10. Painting. a liquid, as oil, in which a pigment is mixed before being applied to a surface.

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vehicle British  

/ ˈviːɪkəl, vɪˈhɪkjʊlə /

noun

1. any conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported, esp one fitted with wheels

2. a medium for the expression, communication, or achievement of ideas, information, power, etc

3. pharmacol a therapeutically inactive substance mixed with the active ingredient to give bulk to a medicine

4. Also called: base.  a painting medium, such as oil, in which pigments are suspended

5. (in the performing arts) a play, musical composition, etc, that enables a particular performer to display his talents

6. a rocket excluding its payload

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Pronunciation

Because the primary stress in vehicle is on the first syllable, the in the second syllable tends to disappear: . A pronunciation with primary stress on the second syllable and a fully pronounced is usually considered nonstandard: . In the adjective vehicular, where the primary stress is normally on the second syllable, the is always pronounced.

Other Word Forms

• vehicular adjective

Etymology

Origin of vehicle

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin vehiculum, from veh(ere) “to carry, convey, ride” + -i- -i- + -culum -cle ²

Example Sentences

SpaceX will need to get its Starship vehicle working, as its orbital data-center satellites are based on a design optimized for the rocket, the Journal has reported.

From The Wall Street Journal

Officials have overhauled the management of brick kilns, a major source of black carbon emissions, and taken other measures such as fining drivers of high-emission vehicles and incentivising farmers to stop agricultural burning.

From Barron's

The Shenzhen-based automaker delivered more than a million vehicles outside China in 2025, the company said, more than double the previous year’s total.

From The Wall Street Journal

So-called Kei cars - short for kei-jidōsha, literally "light vehicle" - became popular in Japan after World War Two as an economical means of transport in its crowded cities.

From BBC

In response, communities now track ICE vehicles, blow whistles to warn neighbors and form angry crowds.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• automobile
• bicycle
• boat
• bus
• cab
• car
• jeep
• taxi
• truck
• van
• wagon