vehicle

UK: /ˈviːɪk^əl/

US: /ˈviɪkəl or, sometimes, ˈvihɪ-/

US: (vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ve•hi•cle /ˈviɪkəl or, sometimes, ˈvihɪ-/   n. [countable]

1. Transport a conveyance moving on wheels, runners, or the like, such as an automobile; a device by which someone or something is carried:
   a motor vehicle.
2. Transport any means in or by which someone or something is carried or conveyed:
   Air is the vehicle of sound.
3. Show Business a play, screenplay, or other artistic work or entertainment with a role designed or especially well suited to display the talents of a certain performer.

ve•hic•u•lar /vɪˈhɪkyəlɚ/  adj. See -vec-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ve•hi•cle  (vē′i kəl or, sometimes, vē′hi-), n. 

1. Transport 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.
2. Transport a conveyance moving on wheels, runners, tracks, or the like, as a cart, sled, automobile, or tractor.
3. Transport, a means of transmission or passage:
   Air is the vehicle of sound.
4. a carrier, as of infection.
5. a medium of communication, expression, or display:
   The novel is a fitting vehicle for his talents. Language is the vehicle of thought.
6. Theater, Show Business a play, screenplay, or the like, having a role suited to the talents of and often written for a specific performer.
7. a means of accomplishing a purpose:
   College is a vehicle for success.
8. Rhetoric the thing or idea to which the subject of a metaphor is compared, as "rose'' in "she is a rose.'' Cf. tenor (def. 3).
9. Drugs [Pharm.] a substance, usually fluid, possessing little or no medicinal action, used as a medium for active remedies.
10. Fine Art [Painting.] a liquid, as oil, in which a pigment is mixed before being applied to a surface.

• Latin vehiculum, equivalent. to veh(ere) to convey + -i- -i- + -culum -cle²
• 1605–15

Pronunciation

Because the primary stress in vehicle is on the first syllable, the (h) in the second syllable tends to disappear: (vē′i kəl). A pronunciation with primary stress on the second syllable and a fully pronounced (h) is usually considered nonstandard: (vē hik′əl). In the adjective vehicular, where the primary stress is normally on the second syllable, the (h) is always pronounced.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

vehicle / ˈviːɪk^əl/ noun

1. any conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported, esp one fitted with wheels
2. a medium for the expression, communication, or achievement of ideas, information, power, etc
3. a therapeutically inactive substance mixed with the active ingredient to give bulk to a medicine
4. Also called: base a painting medium, such as oil, in which pigments are suspended
5. (in the performing arts) a play, musical composition, etc, that enables a particular performer to display his or her talents
6. a rocket excluding its payload

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin vehiculum, from vehere to carry

vehicular / vɪˈhɪkjʊlə/ adjective