Vector: meaning, definitions and examples

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vector

 

[ ˈvɛktər ]

Noun
Context #1 | Noun

mathematics

A quantity having direction as well as magnitude, especially as determining the position of one point in space relative to another.

Synonyms

arrow, line segment, ray

Examples of usage

  • A vector pointing north with a magnitude of 5 units.
  • The velocity of the car can be represented as a vector.
Context #2 | Noun

biology

A carrier of disease or infection, especially an organism that transmits a pathogen.

Synonyms

carrier, transmitter

Examples of usage

  • Mosquitoes are vectors for malaria.
  • Ticks can act as vectors for Lyme disease.
Context #3 | Noun

computing

An array of data elements, especially one that represents a space in which each element corresponds to one of the dimensions of the space.

Synonyms

array, list

Examples of usage

  • In computer graphics, a vector is used to represent points in three-dimensional space.
  • The vector stores the pixel values of an image.

Translations

Translations of the word "vector" in other languages:

🇵🇹 vetor

🇮🇳 वेक्टर

🇩🇪 Vektor

🇮🇩 vektor

🇺🇦 вектор

🇵🇱 wektor

🇯🇵 ベクトル

🇫🇷 vecteur

🇪🇸 vector

🇹🇷 vektör

🇰🇷 벡터

🇸🇦 متجه

🇨🇿 vektor

🇸🇰 vektor

🇨🇳 向量

🇸🇮 vektor

🇮🇸 vigur

🇰🇿 вектор

🇬🇪 ვექტორი

🇦🇿 vektor

🇲🇽 vector

Word origin

The term 'vector' originated from Latin 'vehere' meaning 'to carry'. In the 18th century, it was first used in mathematics to describe a quantity with both direction and magnitude. Over time, the concept of vectors expanded to various fields like physics, biology, and computing.

Word Frequency Rank

Ranking #3,572, this word is part of upper-intermediate vocabulary. While not among the most basic terms, it appears often enough to be valuable for advanced communication.