vascular
Americanadjective
adjective
-
Relating to the vessels of the body, especially the arteries and veins, that carry blood and lymph.
-
Relating to or having xylem and phloem, plant tissues highly specialized for carrying water, dissolved nutrients, and food from one part of a plant to another. Ferns and all seed-bearing plants have vascular tissues; bryophytes, such as mosses, do not.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vascular
From the New Latin word vāsculāris, dating back to 1665–75. See vasculum, -ar 1
Explanation
Use the adjective vascular when you're talking about blood vessels. One side effect of long-term smoking is vascular disease. The word vascular comes up in medicine and anatomy whenever there's discussion of the circulatory system, the series of vessels carrying blood around the body. Plants have vascular systems too, to carry water and nutrients throughout their systems. The word vascular comes from the Latin vascularis, "of or pertaining to vessels or tubes."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dr. Caron Rockman, chair of vascular surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, said that while it was possible for superficial clots to progress to deep vein thrombosis, it remains rare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The resulting map showed patterns of gene activity across the different cells that create and support the brain's vascular system, giving researchers a detailed way to examine how APOE4 contributes to vascular degeneration.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
What has been less clear is why this happens and whether the vascular damage contributes directly to the disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Dr. Zaldy Tan, author of a new book with profound insights into aging, memory loss and resilience, was examining an 84-year-old patient with vascular dementia last week in a suite at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
“This looks excellent, Jessica. Nice vascular flow, good color...you’re already healing beautifully.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
