vector
Americannoun
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vectors
plural
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Mathematics.
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a quantity possessing both magnitude and direction, represented by an arrow the direction of which indicates the direction of the quantity and the length of which is proportional to the magnitude.
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such a quantity with the additional requirement that such quantities obey the parallelogram law of addition.
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such a quantity with the additional requirement that such quantities are to transform in a particular way under changes of the coordinate system.
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any generalization of the above quantities.
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the direction or course followed by an airplane, missile, or the like.
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Biology.
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an insect or other organism that transmits a pathogenic fungus, virus, bacterium, etc.
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any agent that acts as a carrier or transporter, as a virus or plasmid that conveys a genetically engineered DNA segment into a host cell.
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Computers. an array of data ordered such that individual items can be located with a single index or subscript.
verb (used with object)
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vectors,
present (3rd person singular)
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vectored,
past participle, past
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vectoring
present participle
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Aeronautics. to guide (an aircraft) in flight by issuing appropriate headings.
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Aerospace. to change direction of (the thrust of a jet or rocket engine) in order to steer the craft.
noun
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Also called: polar vector. maths a variable quantity, such as force, that has magnitude and direction and can be resolved into components that are odd functions of the coordinates. It is represented in print by a bold italic symbol: F or ̄F Compare pseudoscalar pseudovector scalar tensor
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maths an element of a vector space
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Also called: carrier. pathol an organism, esp an insect, that carries a disease-producing microorganism from one host to another, either within or on the surface of its body
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Also called: cloning vector. genetics an agent, such as a bacteriophage or a plasmid, by means of which a fragment of foreign DNA is inserted into a host cell to produce a gene clone in genetic engineering
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the course or compass direction of an aircraft
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any behavioural influence, force, or drive
verb
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to direct or guide (a pilot, aircraft, etc) by directions transmitted by radio
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to alter the direction of (the thrust of a jet engine) as a means of steering an aircraft
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A quantity, such as the velocity of an object or the force acting on an object, that has both magnitude and direction.
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Compare scalar
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An organism, such as a mosquito or tick, that spreads pathogens from one host to another.
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A bacteriophage, plasmid, or other agent that transfers genetic material from one cell to another.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vectorsimple
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vectorssimple
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have vectoredperfect
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has vectoredperfect
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am vectoringprogressive
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are vectoringprogressive
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is vectoringprogressive
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have been vectoringperfect progressive
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has been vectoringperfect progressive
Past
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vectoredsimple
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had vectoredperfect
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was vectoringprogressive
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were vectoringprogressive
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had been vectoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vector
First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin: “carrier,” from vec- (variant stem of vehere “to carry”) + -tor -tor
Explanation
One definition of a vector is that of a carrier — it might be an insect like a mosquito that carries and transmits a bacterium or virus, or it might be some agent that carries genetically engineered DNA into a cell. Considering that the Latin word vector comes from the word vehere, which means "to carry," it's not surprising that the current use of the word also "carries" the same meaning. In fact, in computers, a vector is a method used to propagate a computer virus. However, the word vector is also used in various scientific areas, including mathematics, where it indicates something possessing both size and direction; and aeronautics, where it indicates a projectile's course.
Vocabulary lists containing vector
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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The ACT Math Test: Number and Quantity
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - Middle School
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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:
West Nile virus was first recognized in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937, according to the vector control district.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
“The threat vector has gone from Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson to anyone who has a single image of themselves online,” said Hany Farid, a digital forensics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
I first came to wear the badge of foodie in college in the aughts, a time when the term meant leading with curiosity, a vector for discovering and exploring new cultures and ideas.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026
AI adoption is another market vector building momentum.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
One transformation involves a change of intermediate vector: when a microbe relying on some arthropod vector for transmission switches to a new host, the microbe may be forced to find a new arthropod as well.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Researchers are increasingly examining how diseases transmitted by vectors may have restricted where canine populations could survive and expand.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Searching for "secret information" that could help it cheat the evaluation, the OpenAI system "chained together multiple attack vectors, including using stolen credentials".
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Fair enough, but mosquitoes do convey an enormous disease burden, as vectors, to human beings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Platner’s tattoo, then, is a particularly charged showdown between vectors of progressivism headed in opposite directions—the old world and the new.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
Ifx represents the vector of variables, b and c are vectors of known coefficients, and A is a matrix of coefficients, determine the maximum value of the objective function cTx .
From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman
You can feel the vectored torque tugging at the wheel as it fights off understeer in a tight turn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
“If that is the case it will raise questions about how it is vectored between such geographically separated sites.”
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2023
Pentagon spokesman John Supple said the military has no reports of “aircraft being inappropriately vectored in the region mentioned” in the notice.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 8, 2023
“The results are plausible, and not very different to those seen with other AdV vectored products,” he said.
From Reuters ● Sep. 9, 2020
An F-47 aircraft on combat air patrol in the area was vectored in visually, spotted a light, and closed on it.
From The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Edward J. Ruppelt
But “Death of an Author” is arguably the first halfway readable A.I. novel, an early glimpse at what is vectoring toward readers.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2023
One idea Lexus put forward with this concept is something called “Direct4,” which is the automaker’s version of torque vectoring that would drive power to each wheel independently, improving grip in high-performance situations.
From The Verge ● Apr. 5, 2022
Of the more than 3,500 mosquito species, only a few hundred are capable of vectoring disease.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2019
The upgrade includes an unusual positive-torque vectoring system on the rear axle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2018
The reporters and photographers were asked to leave the radar room on the pretext that classified radio frequencies and procedures were being used in vectoring the interceptors.
From The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Edward J. Ruppelt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
