ENGLISH
REFERENCE

vein

n. · v.
US //ˈveɪn// UK //vˈeɪn// vein
  1. 1 blood vessel (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Medicine

    one of the tubes in your body that carries blood back to your heart.

    a blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries toward the heart.

    Example

    The nurse looked for a vein in my arm to take a blood sample.

    Example

    The surgeon carefully avoided the major veins while performing the delicate procedure on the patient's leg.
  2. 2 pattern in rock or wood (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Science

    a thin line of a different colour or material found in things like marble, cheese, or wood.

    a stripe or streak of a distinct colour or composition within a mineral, rock, or organic material.

    Example

    The white marble had beautiful green veins running through it.

    Example

    Geologists discovered a rich vein of gold embedded deep within the quartz formation.
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  1. 3 leaf or insect wing (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Science

    the thin lines that make up the framework of a leaf or an insect's wing.

    the vascular framework of a leaf or the structural nervure of an insect's wing.

    Example

    If you look closely at the leaf, you can see the tiny veins that carry water.

    Example

    The biologist examined the intricate network of veins in the dragonfly's wing under a microscope.
  2. 4 style or mood (n.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    a particular way of expressing yourself or a specific mood.

    a distinctive style, quality, or thematic tendency in speech or writing.

    Example

    The comedian continued in a humorous vein, telling stories about his childhood.

    Example

    The author's later novels were written in a much more pessimistic vein than her early romantic works.
  3. 5 to mark with lines (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal

    to mark something with a pattern of lines that look like veins.

    to decorate or mark a surface with a vein-like pattern.

    Example

    The artist used a fine brush to vein the painted pillars so they looked like real stone.

    Example

    The sunset was veined with streaks of deep purple and gold as the light faded over the horizon.
Origin

From Middle English veyne, borrowed from Anglo-Norman veine, from Latin vēna (“a blood-vessel; vein; artery”) of uncertain origin. See vēna for more. Doublet of vena. Displaced native edre, from ǣdre (whence edder).

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