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

GMP said the mother and child were able to escape uninjured with their pets after their vehicle's alarm sounded as it burned.

From BBC

Show attendees slowly walked through the maze of vehicles, examining features like charging ports and trunk space.

From Los Angeles Times

The agency said that he initially fled from police in a vehicle that had been provided to him by the school district.

From BBC

A 13-year-old boy has been arrested after three cyclists and an elderly pedestrian were allegedly hit by a vehicle in four separate incidents in Lincolnshire that police believe are linked.

From BBC

The Exchange Stabilization Fund is the Treasury’s crisis-funding vehicle through which the bridging loan to prop up the Argentine currency would be made.

From Salon

Related Words

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