vessel

American  

[ves-uhl] / ˈvɛs əl /

noun

vessels plural

1. a craft for traveling on water, now usually one larger than an ordinary rowboat; a ship or boat.

2. an airship.

3. a hollow or concave utensil, as a cup, bowl, pitcher, or vase, used for holding liquids or other contents.

4. Anatomy, Zoology. a tube or duct, as an artery or vein, containing or conveying blood or some other body fluid.

5. Botany. a duct formed in the xylem, composed of connected cells that have lost their intervening partitions, that conducts water and mineral nutrients.

6. a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something, especially something nonmaterial.

   a vessel of grace;

   a vessel of wrath.

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vessel British  

/ ˈvɛsəl /

noun

1. any object used as a container, esp for a liquid

2. a passenger or freight-carrying ship, boat, etc

3. an aircraft, esp an airship

4. anatomy a tubular structure that transports such body fluids as blood and lymph

5. botany a tubular element of xylem tissue consisting of a row of cells in which the connecting cell walls have broken down

6. rare a person regarded as an agent or vehicle for some purpose or quality

   she was the vessel of the Lord

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vessel Scientific  

/ vĕs′əl /

1. A blood vessel.

2. A long, continuous column made of the lignified walls of dead vessel elements, along which water flows in the xylem of angiosperms.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unvesseled
  adjective
• vesseled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vessels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vessel

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French va(i)ssel, vessel, from Latin vāscellum, from vās “vessel” ( cf. vase) + -cellum, diminutive suffix

Explanation

What do a canoe, a soda can, and your arteries have in common? Each one is a type of vessel. A vessel can be a ship, a container for holding liquids, or a tube that transports blood throughout your body. Vessel has a number of different meanings, yet all of them relate in some way to liquids and transportation. This relationship in meaning has existed in language for a long time; the word vessel comes from the Latin word, vascellum, which also means both “vase” and “ship.” The use of the word vessel in reference to “blood vessels” came about in English during the 14th century.

Example Sentences

Larger circles indicate more hours of vessel presence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026

A return to attacks and renewed uncertainty surrounding vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz threatened to upend the June 17 cease-fire agreement between the U.S. and Iran on Tuesday.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026

The most purely physical effect in the film is the vessel Odysseus and his crew use in their ill-fated attempt to get home as soon as possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2026

The imaging allowed scientists to assess stroke type, monitor signs of small vessel disease, and identify any new areas of brain injury that developed over time.

From Science Daily • Jul. 3, 2026

We step into the creaky vessel and Lizzie guides us to the middle of the little lake.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• barge
• boat
• craft
• liner
• ocean liner
• tanker