Definition of VECTOR

vector

Plural: vectors

Noun

  • a variable quantity that can be resolved into components
  • a straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose orientation in space is direction
  • any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease
    • "mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever"
    • "fleas are vectors of the plague"
    • "when medical scientists talk about vectors they are usually talking about insects"
  • (genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell
  • A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  • A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  • Any member of a (generalized) vector space.
  • A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  • An ordered tuple, originally one representing a directed quantity, but by extension any one-dimensional matrix.
  • A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  • A chosen course or direction for motion, as of an aircraft.
  • A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  • The way in which the eyes are drawn across the visual text.
  • A kind of dynamically resizable array.
  • A kind of dynamically resizable array.
  • A memory address containing the address of a code entry point, usually one which is part of a table and often one that is dereferenced and jumped to during the execution of an interrupt.
  • A kind of dynamically resizable array.
  • A graphical representation using outlines; vector graphics.
  • A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
  • A DNA molecule used to carry genetic information from one organism into another.
  • A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
  • A person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme.
  • A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
  • A recurring psychosocial issue that stimulates growth and development in the personality.
  • Forces, developments, phenomena, processes, systems, etc. which influence the trajectory of history (e.g. imperialism)

Verb

Verb Forms: vectored, vectoring, vectors

  • To guide an aircraft by radio directions.
  • To set (particularly an aircraft) on a course toward a selected point.
  • To redirect to a vector, or code entry point.

Examples

  • a vector image, vector graphics
  • Computers store many types of data as vectors for ease of processing.
  • The Scrabble dictionary can vector players toward high-scoring words.
  • The vectors in #123;#92;mathbbQ#125;#91;X#93; are the single-variable polynomials with rational coefficients: one is #92;textstylex#123;42#125;#43;#92;frac1#123;137#125;x-1.
  • Velocity is a vector defined by the speed of an object and its direction.

Origin / Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vector (“carrier, transporter”), from vehō (“I carry, I transport, I bear”), also ultimately the root of English vehicle.
The “person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme” sense derives from the disease sense.
The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

Synonyms

transmitter

Scrabble Score: 11

vector: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
vector: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
vector: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

vector: valid Words With Friends Word