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vector

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

vehkter

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈvɛktɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. mathematicsphysics

    A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.

  2. mathematicscomputing

    An ordered tuple, originally one representing a directed quantity, but by extension any one-dimensional matrix.

  3. mathematics

    Any member of a (generalized) vector space.

verb

  1. To set (particularly an aircraft) on a course toward a selected point.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.

Used this way, vector is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Mathematics
  • Geometry
  • Academic writing
  • Education/classroom

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use vector

  • “Mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Directed / ordered

column vectorradius vector

Other combinations

unit vectorstate vectorwave vectorvector fieldvector spaceposition vector

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • vector algebranounCompound term

    The part of algebra that deals with the theory of vectors and vector spaces.

  • vector-borne transmissionnounCompound term

    Indirect transmission of an infectious agent that occurs when a vector bites or touches a person.

  • vector decompositionnounCompound term

    The analysis of a vector field.

  • vector productnounCompound term

    A vector that is the product of two other vectors.

  • vector sumnounCompound term

    A vector that is the sum of two or more other vectors.

  • intermediate vector bosonnounCompound term

    A gauge boson that mediates weak interactions between particles.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.