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.Compare scalar (def. 4).
such a quantity with the additional requirement that such quantities obey the parallelogram law of addition.
such a quantity with the additional requirement that such quantities are to transform in a particular way under changes of the coordinate system.
any generalization of the above quantities.
the direction or course followed by an airplane, missile, or the like.
Biology.
an insect or other organism that transmits a pathogenic fungus, virus, bacterium, etc.
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.
Computers. an array of data ordered such that individual items can be located with a single index or subscript.
verb (used with object)
Aeronautics. to guide (an aircraft) in flight by issuing appropriate headings.
Aerospace. to change direction of (the thrust of a jet or rocket engine) in order to steer the craft.
Origin of vector
1695–1705; <Latin: one that conveys, equivalent to vec-, variant stem of vehere to carry + -tor-tor
OTHER WORDS FROM vector
vec·to·ri·al[vek-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-], /vɛkˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjectivevec·to·ri·al·ly,adverb
It produces embeddings in a vector space with 12,288 dimensions.
Welcome to the Next Level of Bullshit - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Raphaël Millière|September 9, 2020|Nautilus
Oxford used existing technology, a chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vector, to make its vaccine.
More than manufacturing: India’s homegrown COVID vaccines could transform its pharma industry|Naomi Xu Elegant|September 6, 2020|Fortune
They also injected a control model with the siRNA without the vector.
The Neurons That Appeared from Nowhere - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Nayanah Siva|September 2, 2020|Nautilus
The rest of us who are able to work remotely should not act as a vector for community spread.
I’m a physician and a CEO. Why I won’t bring my employees back to the office before Labor Day 2021|matthewheimer|August 26, 2020|Fortune
Michael Jarvis, a virologist at the University of Plymouth, leads a group that has created vaccines against Ebola and tuberculosis with cytomegaloviruses, which he says offer a great deal of flexibility as vectors.
Can Vaccines for Wildlife Prevent Human Pandemics?|Rodrigo Pérez Ortega|August 24, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The adenovirus he received was simply a vector, bringing a missing gene to his cell.
Ebola Vaccine Will Do Little for Current Crisis|Kent Sepkowitz|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To early adopters, Homestar Runner was that light, in vector graphics with actionscript.
Homestar Runner, Trogdor the Burninator, and the Birth of the Internet|Rich Goldstein|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or, as Sims finely puts it, the zombie will be found “moving blindly along a vector of memory.”
Zombies, Zombies, Everywhere: What’s a Novelist to Do?|J.T. Price|June 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The vector that they were pointing at was true, but it doesn't mean that Israel is 'partly free.'
Is The Israeli Press Only "Partly Free"?|Ali Gharib|May 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The other source of vector is the reaction between the zirconium and water.
Japan Nuclear Crisis: What Is a Full Meltdown?|Josh Dzieza|March 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
With considerable change of latitude however the shape of vector diagrams changes largely.
Each vector shown is the vector resultant for one particular night.
A Quantitative Study of the Nocturnal Migration of Birds.|George H. Lowery.
British Dictionary definitions for vector
vector
/ (ˈvɛktə) /
noun
Also called: polar vectormathsa 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 ̄FCompare pseudoscalar, pseudovector, scalar (def. 1), tensor (def. 2)
mathsan element of a vector space
Also called: carrierpatholan organism, esp an insect, that carries a disease-producing microorganism from one host to another, either within or on the surface of its body
Also called: cloning vectorgeneticsan 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
the course or compass direction of an aircraft
any behavioural influence, force, or drive
verb(tr)
to direct or guide (a pilot, aircraft, etc) by directions transmitted by radio
to alter the direction of (the thrust of a jet engine) as a means of steering an aircraft
bearing, direction, angle, point, track, trajectory, route, aim, course, way, line
Cultural definitions for vector
vector
In physics and mathematics, any quantity with both a magnitude and a direction. For example, velocity is a vector because it describes both how fast something is moving and in what direction it is moving. Because velocity is a vector, other quantities in which velocity is a factor, such as acceleration and momentum, are vectors also.