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, 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

Derived Forms

• vehicular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vehicles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vehicle

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

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

The management guides for profitability recovery in the second half as product mix improves, with vehicle margin expected to return to the midteens in the fourth quarter, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Tessera invests in companies through a special purpose vehicle then provides investors the economic exposure to that company’s valuation through the tokens.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

In an undeveloped eastern part of the city, the caravan turned off the pavement and bumped along a dirt road to an opening in the Joshua trees where a broken-down recreational vehicle came into view.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Surveillance footage from March 22 captured the moment the plane smashed into the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path, sending both hurtling down the runway.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

But Felix’s favorite vehicle was the cheapest—a fully loaded silver Range Rover.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

However, medium-term prices of the metal are expected to stay supported by elevated energy costs and structural demand from renewable energy, electric vehicles and AI infrastructure, she says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The floods and landslides that struck Nepal and China's autonomous Tibet region saw a tsunami-like wall of water bury homes, smash bridges and sweep away vehicles.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

“That’s scary. That’s people on the highway next to us driving vehicles up to 80,000 pounds,” Seidl said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

According to the annual homeless count, only 671 recreational vehicles remained in the 400 square miles of desert beyond the incorporated cities of Palmdale and Lancaster.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

They gathered their weapons and equipment and loaded their vehicles with speed and precision, thanks to months of practice.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Related Words

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