vessel

American  

[ves-uhl] / ˈvɛs əl /

noun

1. a craft for traveling on water, now usually one larger than an ordinary rowboat; a ship or boat.

2. an airship.

3. a hollow or concave utensil, as a cup, bowl, pitcher, or vase, used for holding liquids or other contents.

4. Anatomy, Zoology. a tube or duct, as an artery or vein, containing or conveying blood or some other body fluid.

5. Botany. a duct formed in the xylem, composed of connected cells that have lost their intervening partitions, that conducts water and mineral nutrients.

6. a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something, especially something nonmaterial.

   a vessel of grace;

   a vessel of wrath.

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vessel British  

/ ˈvɛsəl /

noun

1. any object used as a container, esp for a liquid

2. a passenger or freight-carrying ship, boat, etc

3. an aircraft, esp an airship

4. anatomy a tubular structure that transports such body fluids as blood and lymph

5. botany a tubular element of xylem tissue consisting of a row of cells in which the connecting cell walls have broken down

6. rare a person regarded as an agent or vehicle for some purpose or quality

   she was the vessel of the Lord

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vessel Scientific  

/ vĕs′əl /

1. A blood vessel.

2. A long, continuous column made of the lignified walls of dead vessel elements, along which water flows in the xylem of angiosperms.

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Other Word Forms

• unvesseled adjective
• vesseled adjective

Etymology

Origin of vessel

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French va(i)ssel, vessel, from Latin vāscellum, from vās “vessel” ( vase ) + -cellum, diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

That makes it the first Japanese vessel to exit the Gulf since the start of the war, according to a company statement quoted by Japanese media.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Scotland's ferry shortage is reaching a "much better place" with a third major vessel set to resume service, CalMac says.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

A British maritime security agency said the vessel was struck off Qatar, reporting damage but no casualties.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Perhaps most directly tied to Hormuz transits, Larak is linked to Iran’s monitoring of vessel traffic and a key military asset for the regime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

With this innovation, the Mary Rose made the historic transition from a vessel that was capable of carrying guns on its deck to a warship expressly built to permanently house a battery of cannons.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• barge
• boat
• craft
• liner
• ocean liner
• tanker