vessel

[ ves-uhl ]

See synonyms for: vessel vessels vesseled on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a hollow or concave utensil, as a cup, bowl, pitcher, or vase, used for holding liquids or other contents.
Anatomy, Zoology. a tube or duct, as an artery or vein, containing or conveying blood or some other body fluid.
Botany. a duct formed in the xylem, composed of connected cells that have lost their intervening partitions, that conducts water and mineral nutrients.: Compare tracheid.
a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something, especially something nonmaterial: a vessel of grace; a vessel of wrath.

Origin of vessel

1250–1300; Middle English <Anglo-French, Old French vessel, va(i)ssel<Latin vāscellum, equivalent to vās (see vase) + -cellum diminutive suffix

Other words from vessel

vesseled; especially British, vesselled, adjective
un·ves·seled, adjective

Words that may be confused with vessel

vassal, vessel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vessel in a sentence

Still, the security on the vessels—big or small—is nonexistent.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean | Barbie Latza Nadeau | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
One hundred thirty-eight major warships with 221 smaller combat vessels would support them in the assault.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day | James Jones | November 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It has a third of the budget and a fraction of the maritime vessels.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy | Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau | November 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
During the time of the pharaohs, such funerary vessels were used to store the organs of the deceased.
7 Historically Significant Artifacts Rescued by Happenstance | The Daily Beast | October 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Frontex Plus has no actual vessels, and virtually no budget.
Are European Rescuers Enticing Migrants to Their Deaths? | Barbie Latza Nadeau | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

They did not arrive in time, so that some of the vessels had sailed, three of which were captured by the enemy.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624 | Various
The vessel escaped miraculously, with sails torn by shots from three Dutch vessels, which they took for one of their own.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624 | Various
Gourges fitted out three vessels and 150 soldiers at his own expense to revenge their death, and repair the honor of his nation.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
The treasure taken on board these vessels was afterwards conveyed to the bank of England in 20 wagons.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
Normally, coagulation takes place in two to eight minutes after the blood leaves the vessels.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for vessel

vessel

/ (ˈvɛsəl) /

noun

any object used as a container, esp for a liquid
a passenger or freight-carrying ship, boat, etc

an aircraft, esp an airship
anatomy a tubular structure that transports such body fluids as blood and lymph
botany a tubular element of xylem tissue consisting of a row of cells in which the connecting cell walls have broken down
rare a person regarded as an agent or vehicle for some purpose or quality: she was the vessel of the Lord

Origin of vessel

C13: from Old French vaissel, from Late Latin vascellum urn, from Latin vās vessel

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

Scientific definitions for vessel

vessel

[ vĕs′əl ]

A blood vessel.
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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