Search Result for "vector": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (4)

1. a variable quantity that can be resolved into components;

2. a straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose orientation in space is direction;

3. any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease;
- Example: "mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever"
- Example: "fleas are vectors of the plague"
- Example: "aphids are transmitters of plant diseases"
- Example: "when medical scientists talk about vectors they are usually talking about insects"
[syn: vector, transmitter]

4. (genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell;


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Vector \Vec"tor\, n. [L., a bearer, carrier. fr. vehere, vectum, to carry.] 1. Same as Radius vector. [1913 Webster] 2. (Math.) A directed quantity, as a straight line, a force, or a velocity. Vectors are said to be equal when their directions are the same and their magnitudes equal. Cf. Scalar. [1913 Webster] Note: In a triangle, either side is the vector sum of the other two sides taken in proper order; the process finding the vector sum of two or more vectors is vector addition (see under Addition). [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

vector n 1: a variable quantity that can be resolved into components 2: a straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose orientation in space is direction 3: any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease; "mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever"; "fleas are vectors of the plague"; "aphids are transmitters of plant diseases"; "when medical scientists talk about vectors they are usually talking about insects" [syn: vector, transmitter] 4: (genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

vector 1. A member of a vector space. 2. A line or movement defined by its end points, or by the current position and one other point. See vector graphics. 3. A memory location containing the address of some code, often some kind of exception handler or other operating system service. By changing the vector to point to a different piece of code it is possible to modify the behaviour of the operating system. Compare hook. 4. A one-dimensional array. (1996-09-30)