What does "vector" mean?

1. (math and physics) a quantity that has both a size and a specific direction. 2. (biology and medicine) an insect or animal that carries a disease from one person to another. 3. (computing) a list of data items that can change in size. 4. (aviation) to give a pilot directions to fly a certain course.

How do you use "vector"?

Often used with 'magnitude' and 'direction'. Commonly used in the phrase 'disease vector'.

vector

n. · v.

US //ˈvɛktɝ// UK //vˈɛktɐ// vec·tor

1 math and physics (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Math

a quantity that has both a size and a specific direction.

a quantity possessing both magnitude and direction, represented geometrically by an arrow.

Example

The teacher asked us to calculate the velocity vector of the moving car.

Example

In classical mechanics, force is treated as a vector because its effect depends on both its strength and the direction in which it is applied.

Usage

Often used with 'magnitude' and 'direction'.
- quantity
- force
- scalar
2 biology and medicine (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Medicine

an insect or animal that carries a disease from one person to another.

an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a pathogen from one host to another.

Example

Mosquitoes are the primary vector for spreading malaria in this region.

Example

Public health officials focused on eliminating stagnant water to reduce the population of the biological vector responsible for the outbreak.

Usage

Commonly used in the phrase 'disease vector'.
- carrier
- transmitter

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3 computing (n.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Computing

a list of data items that can change in size.

a data structure representing a one-dimensional array that can be dynamically resized.

Example

The programmer used a vector to store the list of user names.

Example

The algorithm's efficiency improved significantly after we replaced the static array with a dynamic vector to handle fluctuating data loads.
- array
- list
4 aviation (v.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Science

to give a pilot directions to fly a certain course.

to guide an aircraft in a particular direction using radio instructions.

Example

The air traffic controller had to vector the plane around the storm.

Example

The pilot requested that the tower vector them toward the secondary runway due to the increasing crosswinds.

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin vector (“carrier, transporter”), from vehō (“to carry, transport, 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.