vehicle

American  

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

noun

• vehicles
  plural

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 /

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

Derived Forms

• vehicular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vehicles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vehicle

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

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Explanation

A vehicle gets you or your stuff where it needs to go. Even though the grocery store is only a few block away, you'll probably want to use a vehicle to get there, so you won't have to carry your groceries all the way home. A vehicle is anything that transports a person or thing, usually a car. But a vehicle can be a truck, a plane, a bus, a blimp or even a shopping cart, anything that transports people or things. Vehicle is also often used in the sense of a medium of expression. For example, if you're an artist, your art is the vehicle for your creative ideas. Some people believe that bread is just a vehicle for mayonnaise.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vehicle vehicles

Because the wheels were not secured with chocks, and no breakaway cables were attached, there was nothing preventing the vehicle from rolling backwards when it was lowered on to the skates.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

At the Texas demo, the Roadster didn’t exactly soar through the air — it thrust itself off the ground for brief moments using thrusters on the bottom of the vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

But Baker later removed the winch, jacked up the vehicle and placed skates beneath the rear wheels, it said.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

The company says that it is a one-seat vehicle not currently approved for public-road use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The boxy vehicle has a yellow paint base with the name “Sandy June’s Mobile Frybread Food Truck” elegantly lettered across its long side.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Next up are the biggest, loudest, most-daunting-to-other-drivers vehicles on the highway: the trucks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The sleek white sports car drove upside down, thrust itself into the air and performed a flip over a lineup of other Tesla vehicles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

In its report three weeks after the exercise, DN said the recordings came from rental vehicles -- at least two of them Deepal brand cars, made by Chinese state-controlled automaker Changan.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Burwood withdrew money from the woman's bank account, accepted ownership of her house and received thousand of pounds, which was used for her own benefit, including for building work and the purchase of vehicles.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The road to Seoul was not crowded with people or vehicles.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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Related Words

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

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