vehicle

[vee-i-kuhl, vee-hi-]

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.

vehicle

/ 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

Pronunciation Note

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of vehicle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of vehicle¹

C17: from Latin vehiculum, from vehere to carry

Example Sentences

There were vehicles and taxis along the main road from the port of the seaside capital Bissau to the presidential palace, AFP journalists said.

Read more on Barron's

Its underwriters were the first to cover a car—the 1904 policy described the newfangled vehicle as a “ship navigating on land”—an airplane and a satellite.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The report said Anduril had tried to put out the flames with its own vehicle, but three trucks from the local fire department had to be brought in to extinguish the fire.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The chancellor said it was time to "reduce generous taxpayer subsidies" to the scheme, which allows eligible disabled people to lease vehicles that can be adapted to their needs.

Read more on BBC

"Well-paid jobs will also be created for skilled workers as the company delivers this historic retro van into the electric vehicle era," she added.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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