vessel

American  

[ves-uhl] / ˈvɛs əl /

noun

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

• unvesseled adjective
• vesseled adjective

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” ( vase ) + -cellum, diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

The company aims to ultimately crank out up to 20 ships a year in Philadelphia, up from annual output of just one or two vessels recently.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many of these molecules are known to reduce inflammation, support healthy blood vessels, and improve metabolism.

From Science Daily

He said the vessel, sanctioned by the US since 2024, had moved 7.3m barrels of oil on behalf of Iran.

From BBC

Thirty aircraft, 22 naval and coast guard vessels, and two drones have been deployed to check the waters, while a ground search is also underway, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said.

From Barron's

They would be worn for limited, prescribed periods during and following chemotherapy to provide compression to blood vessels.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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