vehicle – WordReference.com Dictionary of English

vehicle – WordReference.com Dictionary of English

By Gertrude Aziz 3 years ago

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]

  1. 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.

  2. Transportany means in or by which someone or something is carried or conveyed:Air is the vehicle of sound.

  3. 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. 

  1. 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.

  2. Transporta conveyance moving on wheels, runners, tracks, or the like, as a cart, sled, automobile, or tractor.

  3. Transport, a means of transmission or passage:Air is the vehicle of sound.

  4. a carrier, as of infection.

  5. a medium of communication, expression, or display:The novel is a fitting vehicle for his talents. Language is the vehicle of thought.

  6. Theater, Show Businessa play, screenplay, or the like, having a role suited to the talents of and often written for a specific performer.

  7. a means of accomplishing a purpose:College is a vehicle for success.

  8. Rhetoricthe thing or idea to which the subject of a metaphor is compared, as “rose” in “she is a rose.” Cf.  tenor (def. 3).

  9. Drugs[Pharm.]a substance, usually fluid, possessing little or no medicinal action, used as a medium for active remedies.

  10. 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

  1. any conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported, esp one fitted with wheels
  2. a medium for the expression, communication, or achievement of ideas, information, power, etc
  3. a therapeutically inactive substance mixed with the active ingredient to give bulk to a medicine
  4. Also called: base a painting medium, such as oil, in which pigments are suspended
  5. (in the performing arts) a play, musical composition, etc, that enables a particular performer to display his talents
  6. a rocket excluding its payload

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin vehiculum, from vehere to carry

vehicular /vɪˈhɪkjʊlə/ adj

‘vehicle‘ also found in these entries:










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