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vector

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "vector", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "vector" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "vector" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

vector is aEnglishnoun. It means: A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points. Pronounced /ˈvɛktə/. It ranks #7,301 in English word frequency. Often confused with veto and victor.

Key facts for vector
PropertyValue
Headwordvector
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɛktə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,301
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of vector in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for vector is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈvɛktə/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,301 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for vector, with forms such as "evctor", "vcetor", and "vecctor". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "veto", "victor", "vendor", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is vector, spelled V-E-C-T-O-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  2. 2
    A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  3. 3
    A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  4. 4
    A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
  5. 5
    A kind of dynamically resizable array.
  6. 6
    A kind of dynamically resizable array.
  7. 7
    A kind of dynamically resizable array.
  8. 8
    A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
  9. 9
    A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
  10. 10
    A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
  11. 11
    Forces, developments, phenomena, processes, systems, etc. which influence the trajectory of history (e.g. imperialism)

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: evctor,vcetor,vecctor,vecotr,vectorr,vectro,vecttor,vetcor,vvector

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for vector

Misspelling Variants of "vector"

evctor6vcetor6vecctor7vecotr6vectorr7vectro6vecttor7vetcor6
Misspelling Variants of "vector"

Frequency rank: #7,301 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "vector"?
"vector" is spelled V-E-C-T-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɛktə/.
What does "vector" mean?
As a noun, "vector" means: A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.
What words are commonly confused with "vector"?
"vector" is commonly confused with "veto", "victor", "vendor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vector"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vector" is /ˈvɛktə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "vector"?
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 disea... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter V in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.