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Synonyms

vase

American  
[veys, veyz, vahz] / veɪs, veɪz, vɑz /

noun

  • vases
    plural
  1. a vessel, as of glass, porcelain, earthenware, or metal, usually higher than it is wide, used chiefly to hold cut flowers or for decoration.


vase British  
/ vɑːz /

noun

  1. a vessel used as an ornament or for holding cut flowers

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of vase

1555–65; < French < Latin vās vessel

Explanation

The tall container you put flowers in is a vase. Thanks for the enormous bouquet of daisies — I'll need to find a large enough vase to fit them in! A vase is a glass or ceramic container that serves only a decorative function — in other words, you're unlikely to serve a guest a big glass of lemonade in a vase. Vases are generally tall and narrow, to accommodate flower stems. Some vases are curvy and others are straight. In North America, vase usually rhymes with "face," which was its original English pronunciation, though modern British speakers say it so it rhymes with "blahs" instead.

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Vocabulary lists containing vase

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Our collective image of a humongous horse on wheels came down from centuries’ worth of artists’ interpretations: A Greek vase from 675 BCE.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 20, 2026

He tweaked the images, removing plastic gloves and flipping objects like a vase sideways to make for a more engaging composition.

From Los Angeles Times May 8, 2026

The video also showed Kim presenting Lukashenko with a large mosaic vase bearing a portrait of the Belarusian, with the North Korean leader appearing to explain that crafting it involved around 30 seashells.

From Barron's Mar. 26, 2026

In turn, Kim gave Lukashenko a sword and a vase featuring a portrait of the Belarusian leader.

From BBC Mar. 26, 2026

Lily said as I took the flowers from her so I could put them in a vase with water.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English

Back at Paultons Park the zoo had devised miniature vases designed to keep the stems alive while preventing any newly hatched nymphs from falling into water.

From BBC Jul. 9, 2026

Elegant hand-blown glass vases sit beside ceramic crater pots on warm cherry shelves.

From Los Angeles Times May 18, 2026

The couple have had the chance to add some of their own flair to the room in the form of artwork that is mounted on the wall, and a few vases and plants.

From MarketWatch Mar. 24, 2026

The month prior, structural weaknesses prompted the partial closure of one of the galleries hosting Greek vases and offices.

From BBC Feb. 13, 2026

The living room, where he'd placed a big, lighted showcase to display the vases she'd started collecting.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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