
vehicle – WordReference.com Dictionary of English
WordReference Random House Learner’s Dictionary of American
WordReference Random House Learner’s Dictionary of American English © 2020
ve•hi•cle /ˈviɪkəl or, sometimes, ˈvihɪ-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
n. [countable]
- Transporta conveyance moving on wheels, runners, or the like, such as an automobile; a device by which someone or something is carried:a motor vehicle.
- Transportany means in or by which someone or something is carried or conveyed:Air is the vehicle of sound.
- Show Businessa play, screenplay, or other artistic work or entertainment with a role designed or especially well suited to display the talents of a certain performer.
ve•hic•u•lar /vɪˈhɪkyəlɚ/USA pronunciation adj. See -vec-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2020
ve•hi•cle
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation n.
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation n.
- Transportany means in or by which someone travels or something is carried or conveyed; a means of conveyance or transport:a motor vehicle; space vehicles.
- Transporta conveyance moving on wheels, runners, tracks, or the like, as a cart, sled, automobile, or tractor.
- Transport, a means of transmission or passage:Air is the vehicle of sound.
- a carrier, as of infection.
- a medium of communication, expression, or display:The novel is a fitting vehicle for his talents. Language is the vehicle of thought.
- Theater, Show Businessa play, screenplay, or the like, having a role suited to the talents of and often written for a specific performer.
- a means of accomplishing a purpose:College is a vehicle for success.
- Rhetoricthe thing or idea to which the subject of a metaphor is compared, as “rose” in “she is a rose.” Cf. tenor (def. 3).
- Drugs[Pharm.]a substance, usually fluid, possessing little or no medicinal action, used as a medium for active remedies.
- Fine Art[Painting.]a liquid, as oil, in which a pigment is mixed before being applied to a surface.
- Latin vehiculum, equivalent. to veh(ere) to convey + -i- –i– + -culum –cle2
- 1605–15
- Because the primary stress in vehicle is on the first syllable, the
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation in the second syllable tends to disappear:
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation A pronunciation with primary stress on the second syllable and a fully pronounced
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation is usually considered nonstandard:
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation In the adjective vehicular, where the primary stress is normally on the second syllable, the
(vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-),USA pronunciation is always pronounced.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
vehicle /ˈviːɪkəl/ n
- any conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported, esp one fitted with wheels
- a medium for the expression, communication, or achievement of ideas, information, power, etc
- a therapeutically inactive substance mixed with the active ingredient to give bulk to a medicine
- Also called: base a painting medium, such as oil, in which pigments are suspended
- (in the performing arts) a play, musical composition, etc, that enables a particular performer to display his talents
- a rocket excluding its payload
vehicular /vɪˈhɪkjʊlə/ adj
‘vehicle‘ also found in these entries: