vehicle

[ vee-i-kuhlor, sometimes, vee-hi- ]

noun

1. any 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. a conveyance moving on wheels, runners, tracks, or the like, as a cart, sled, automobile, or tractor.
3. 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, Movies. a 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. Rhetoric. the thing or idea to which the subject of a metaphor is compared, as “rose” in “she is a rose.” Compare tenor ( def 3 ).
9. Pharmacology. a substance, usually fluid, possessing little or no medicinal action, used as a medium for active remedies.
10. Painting. a liquid, as oil, in which a pigment is mixed before being applied to a surface.

vehicle

/ ˈviːɪkəl; vɪˈhɪkjʊlə /

noun

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. pharmacol a therapeutically inactive substance mixed with the active ingredient to give bulk to a medicine
4. Also calledbase 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

Pronunciation Note

Because the primary stress in vehicle is on the first syllable, the [h] in the second syllable tends to disappear: [vee, -i-k, uh, l]. A pronunciation with primary stress on the second syllable and a fully pronounced [h] is usually considered nonstandard: [vee-, hik, -, uh, l]. In the adjective vehicular, where the primary stress is normally on the second syllable, the [h] is always pronounced.

Derived Forms

• vehicular, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vehicle¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin vehiculum, from veh(ere) “to carry, convey, ride” + -i- -i- + -culum -cle ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of vehicle¹

C17: from Latin vehiculum, from vehere to carry

Example Sentences

Shortly thereafter, the department received a call regarding a nearby vehicle collision.

From Los Angeles Times

The license plate readers are manufactured by Motorola Solutions and, like most others, can detect a vehicle’s make, model and color, while recording the GPS location, date and time.

From Los Angeles Times

The camera alerts police if it captures a reported stolen vehicle, but there’s also a voluminous amount of data stored by police agencies of all the other cars on the road.

From Los Angeles Times

A camera might alert police the moment it registers the vehicle of a person wanted as part of an investigation or authorities might pore through captured images as part of a case, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Vega was turning left into a parking lot at Sherman Circle when the driver of the Mercedes-Benz struck the right side of his vehicle, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• automobile
• bicycle
• boat
• bus
• cab
• car
• jeep
• taxi
• truck
• van
• wagon