vascular
Americanadjective
adjective
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Relating to the vessels of the body, especially the arteries and veins, that carry blood and lymph.
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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.
All of these took a toll on the industry, but none of them proved as ruinous as citrus greening, a disease that clogs trees’ vascular systems, choking off water and nutrients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
One of the proteins helps activate a range of neuropeptides involved in stress responses, anxiety, vascular tone, and autonomic nervous system activity.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
Mason, 74, who has vascular dementia and vascular parkinsonism, has lived in Sweden for more than 20 years and is currently in a specialist care facility in the country.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
After one month, the rats given curcumin showed improvements in vascular health that were similar to those seen in nondiabetic rats.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
I have vascular dementia, the doctor told me, and there was some comfort to be had.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions 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.
