What does "vector" mean?
A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
Vector
/ˈvɛktɚ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
- Grammar: vector is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: transmitter, aerial infection, air line, airborne infection.
- Useful contrasts: deemphasize, discard, halt.
- Usage evidence: Vectors need not correspond to a physical quantity; anything can be a vector space as long as vector addition and scalar multiplication is defined.
How to use "vector"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "vector" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "vector" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "vector" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "vector" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "vector" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "transmitter" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "vector", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
"Velocity is a vector defined by the speed of an object and its direction."
- 2 (genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell wordnet
- 3 A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.; Any member of a (generalized) vector space.
"The vectors in #123;#92;mathbbQ#125;#91;X#93; are the single-variable polynomials with rational coefficients: one is #92;textstylex#123;42#125;#43;#92;frac1#123;137#125;x-1."
- 4 a variable quantity that can be resolved into components wordnet
- 5 A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.; An ordered tuple, originally one representing a directed quantity, but by extension any one-dimensional matrix.
"Computers store many types of data as vectors for ease of processing."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease wordnet
- 7 A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.; A chosen course or direction for motion, as of an aircraft.
- 8 a straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose orientation in space is direction wordnet
- 9 A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.; The way in which the eyes are drawn across the visual text.
- 10 A kind of dynamically resizable array.
"To create a vector of students in a class, you will want the vector to be large enough […]"
- 11 A kind of dynamically resizable array.; A memory address containing the address of a code entry point, usually one which is part of a table and often one that is dereferenced and jumped to during the execution of an interrupt.
- 12 A kind of dynamically resizable array.; A graphical representation using outlines; vector graphics. attributive
"a vector image, vector graphics"
- 13 A carrier of a disease-causing agent.; A DNA molecule used to carry genetic information from one organism into another.
- 14 A carrier of a disease-causing agent.; A person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme.
"These days, their primary job is to insist that Facebook is a fun place to share baby photos and sell old couches, not a vector for hate speech, misinformation, and violent extremist propaganda."
- 15 A carrier of a disease-causing agent.; A recurring psychosocial issue that stimulates growth and development in the personality.
- 16 Forces, developments, phenomena, processes, systems, etc. which influence the trajectory of history (e.g. imperialism)
Verb
- 1 To set (particularly an aircraft) on a course toward a selected point.
"[…] if love is vectored toward an object and Elinor's here flies toward Marianne, Marianne's in turn toward Willoughby."
- 2 To redirect to a vector, or code entry point.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Vectors need not correspond to a physical quantity; anything can be a vector space as long as vector addition and scalar multiplication is defined."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "vector"?
Common synonyms include: transmitter, aerial infection, air line, airborne infection, airline, argument.
How do you use "vector" in a sentence?
Vectors need not correspond to a physical quantity; anything can be a vector space as long as vector addition and scalar multiplication is defined.
How do you pronounce "vector"?
Pronounced /ˈvɛktɚ/.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin vector (“carrier, transporter”), from vehō (“I carry, I transport, I bear”), also ultimately the root of English vehicle. The “person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme” sense derives from the disease sense. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.