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

See Examples For:

vessel vessels

But Puls said switching goods transport from shipping to trucks is difficult, as many trucks are typically required to carry the cargo of a single commercial vessel.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

He added that the company's products "can be manufactured locally, with the potential to retain significant economic benefit in Scotland through engineering, vessel services and offshore supply chain".

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

The U.S. military denied any involvement in the drone strikes in March and the disappearance of the vessel in January.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Ordinary maneuvers such as tacking and gybing—both of which involve swinging the mainsail from one side of the vessel to the other—are arduous for the solo sailor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Dropping over the side of the vessel, he plunged himself to the ocean bottom, where he saw both the wreck and a huge mass of figures.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Only specially adapted vessels, or those carrying almost no cargo, can navigate such low waters.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

The best known is the Sayyad, which is able to search and lock onto vessels using radar reflections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

But continued dry weather this week pushed water levels at Kaub on the Rhine -- a reference point for vessels -- even further downwards and made the area unpassable for laden cargo vessels.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Dr. Joseph Burgoyne is a cardiovascular scientist at King's College London whose research is uncovering the molecular mechanisms that control the health of the heart and blood vessels.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

It owned a mother ship far out to sea, packed with tens of thousands of bottles, plus other vessels that were usually called “blacks.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

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