vehicle

[vee-i-kuh l or, sometimes, vee-hi-] /ˈvi ɪ kəl or, sometimes, ˈvi hɪ-/

noun

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.

a conveyance moving on wheels, runners, tracks, or the like, as a cart, sled, automobile, or tractor.

a means of transmission or passage:

Air is the vehicle of sound.

a carrier, as of infection.

a medium of communication, expression, or display:

The novel is a fitting vehicle for his talents. Language is the vehicle of thought.

Theater, Movies. a play, screenplay, or the like, having a role suited to the talents of and often written for a specific performer.

a means of accomplishing a purpose:

College is a vehicle for success.

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).

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.

Origin

1605-15; < Latin vehiculum, equivalent to veh(ere) to convey + -i- -i- + -culum -cle²

Pronunciation note

Because the primary stress in vehicle is on the first syllable, the

[h] /h/ (Show IPA) in the second syllable tends to disappear:

[vee-i-kuh l] /ˈvi ɪ kəl/ . A pronunciation with primary stress on the second syllable and a fully pronounced [h] /h/ is usually considered nonstandard: [vee-hik-uh l] /viˈhɪk əl/ . In the adjective vehicular, where the primary stress is normally on the second syllable, the [h] /h/ is always pronounced.

Examples from the web for vehicle

Many vehicle manufacturers are actively researching and developing transportation fuel cell technologies.
The motor vehicle is developing steadily as a national means of transportation of merchandise.
Whether you rely on your bike for transportation or exercise, you'll enjoy these ten fun facts on this two-wheeled vehicle.
Similarly, if an emergency vehicle needs to get around your car, let it.
His reputation depends not on how a vehicle arrives in his garage but on what he does to restore it to working condition.
Puff is attached near the exhaust pipe of your vehicle.
Here's the trick to getting your vehicle moving again.
They have, indeed, made it more risky to make off with a vehicle.
There are several small things you can do to make your vehicle more energy-efficient.
My vehicle comes to a hasty halt as a disabled car emerges abruptly from the murk dead ahead.

British Dictionary definitions for vehicle

vehicle

/ˈviːɪkəl/

noun

any conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported, esp one fitted with wheels

a medium for the expression, communication, or achievement of ideas, information, power, etc

(pharmacol) a therapeutically inactive substance mixed with the active ingredient to give bulk to a medicine

Also called base. a painting medium, such as oil, in which pigments are suspended

(in the performing arts) a play, musical composition, etc, that enables a particular performer to display his talents

a rocket excluding its payload

Derived Forms

vehicular (vɪˈhɪkjʊlə) adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Latin vehiculum, from vehere to carry

Word Origin and History for vehicle

1610s, "a medium through which a drug or medicine is administered," also "any means of conveying or transmitting," from French véhicule, from Latin vehiculum "means of transport, a vehicle," from vehere "to carry," from PIE *wegh- "to go, transport in a vehicle" (cf. Old English wegan "to carry;" Old Norse vegr, Old High German weg "way;" Middle Dutch wagen "wagon;" see wagon). Sense of "cart or other conveyance" first recorded 1650s.

vehicle in Medicine

vehicle ve·hi·cle (vē'ĭ-kəl)
n.
A substance of no therapeutic value that is used to convey an active medicine for administration.