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View synonyms for vein

vein

[ veyn ]

noun

  1. one of the system of branching vessels or tubes conveying blood from various parts of the body to the heart.
  2. (loosely) any blood vessel.
  3. one of the riblike thickenings that form the framework of the wing of an insect.
  4. one of the strands or bundles of vascular tissue forming the principal framework of a leaf.
  5. any body or stratum of ore, coal, etc., clearly separated or defined:

    a rich vein of coal.

  6. a body or mass of igneous rock, deposited mineral, or the like occupying a crevice or fissure in rock; lode.
  7. a natural channel or watercourse beneath the surface of the earth.
  8. the water running through such a channel.
  9. a streak or marking, as of a different shade or color, running through marble, wood, etc.
  10. a condition, mood, or temper:

    a vein of pessimism.

  11. a tendency, quality, or strain traceable in character, conduct, writing, etc.; manner or style:

    to write in a poetic vein.

    Synonyms: thread, hint, touch, streak, tone



verb (used with object)

  1. to furnish with veins.
  2. to mark with lines or streaks suggesting veins.
  3. to extend over or through in the manner of veins:

    Broad new highways vein the countryside.

vein

/ veɪn /

noun

  1. any of the tubular vessels that convey oxygen-depleted blood to the heart Compare pulmonary vein artery venous
  2. any of the hollow branching tubes that form the supporting framework of an insect's wing
  3. any of the vascular strands of a leaf
  4. a clearly defined mass of ore, mineral, etc, filling a fault or fracture, often with a tabular or sheetlike shape
  5. an irregular streak of colour or alien substance in marble, wood, or other material
  6. a natural underground watercourse
  7. a crack or fissure
  8. a distinctive trait or quality in speech, writing, character, etc; strain

    a vein of humour

  9. a temporary disposition, attitude, or temper; mood

    the debate entered a frivolous vein

  10. a parting in hair
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. to diffuse over or cause to diffuse over in streaked patterns
  2. to fill, furnish, or mark with or as if with veins
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

vein

/ vān /

  1. Any of the blood vessels that carry blood toward the heart from the body's cells, tissues, and organs. Veins are thin-walled and contain valves that prevent the backflow of blood. All veins except the pulmonary vein carry blood with low levels of oxygen.
  2. One of the narrow, usually branching tubes or supporting parts forming the framework of an insect's wing or a leaf. Veins in insect wings carry hemolymph and contain a nerve. Veins in leaves contain vascular tissue, with the xylem usually occurring on the upper side of the vein (bringing in water and nutrients) and the phloem on the lower side (carrying away food).
  3. See more at leaf
  4. A long, narrow deposit of mineral or rock that fills the void formed by a fracture or fault in another rock. The mineralogy of the host rock surrounding the vein is often altered where it is in contact with the vein because of chemical reactions between the two rock types.


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Derived Forms

  • ˈveinless, adjective
  • ˈveinal, adjective
  • ˈveiny, adjective
  • ˈveinˌlike, adjective
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Other Words From

  • veinal adjective
  • veinless adjective
  • veinlike adjective
  • inter·vein verb (used with object)
  • inter·veinal adjective
  • subvein noun
  • un·veined adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of vein1

1250–1300; Middle English veine < Old French < Latin vēna vein of the body, channel, ore deposit
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Word History and Origins

Origin of vein1

C13: from Old French veine, from Latin vēna
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Example Sentences

Compression socks apply pressure to your veins and muscles and air circulation from your feet to your heart.

In a similar vein, focus on hiring, training, and retaining talented professionals, and routinely instilling in them an emphasis on the real benefits your product provides for your customers.

From Fortune

In a similar vein, it only felt right that Kenya’s most symbolically significant FKT should also be in Kenyan hands.

Along a similar vein, we have just analyzed the shape of an apple .

In those cases, the veins indicate that the rock had once interacted with flowing water.

“There is such a vein of intelligence and deeply steeped expertise among them,” he says.

Whenever I look for a vein of sadness in Oliona it melts away.

In the decade following World War I, Hopper settled on a vein of imagery that has been his special glory ever since.

So in the vein of March Madness, here are my picks for the Final Four of the 2014 GOP championship of crazy.

In that vein, Burns and Ward stress how TR, ER, and FDR “overcame … the traumas of their childhoods” and young adult lives.

Through it runs a vein about one vara wide, extending east and west for some distance.

A vein of shrewd and humorous sarcasm, together with an under-current of quiet selfishness, made him a very pleasant companion. '

The length of the fibre, moreover, cannot be determined with any absolute certainty from the thickness of the vein.

We have likewise found a vein of plumbago, which was an object of search, on the supposition that it was coal.

The specimen of this breccia is attached to a plate of granular quartz, and may possibly have been part of a vein.

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