Meaning & use
vectors
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“vectors” is a form of “vector”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounpluralmathematicsphysics
Quantities that have both a size and a direction, such as velocity or force, often drawn as arrows.
Grammar: Plural of vector, used in math and physics: add the two vectors.
Patterns
- add vectors
- vectors of something
Force and velocity are vectors, but temperature is not.
Students drew two vectors and added them to find the result.
The arrows on the diagram show the wind vectors.
nounpluralbiology
Living things, such as mosquitoes or ticks, that carry a disease from one host to another.
Grammar: Used with the disease: vectors of malaria.
Patterns
- vectors of something
- vectors for something
Mosquitoes are the main vectors of malaria.
Ticks act as vectors for several illnesses.
Health workers try to control the vectors by draining standing water.
nounpluralcomputing
Routes or methods by which something harmful, such as an attack or a computer virus, is spread or delivered.
Grammar: Often used in computing: attack vectors.
Patterns
- vectors for something
Email attachments remain common vectors for malware.
Security teams look for new attack vectors every week.
Public Wi-Fi can be one of the vectors for data theft.
Word forms
| singular | vector |
|---|
Common combinations
- disease vectors
- Rats and fleas were once important disease vectors.
- attack vectors
- The audit listed several attack vectors in the network.
- add vectors
- To find the resultant, you add the vectors.
- unit vectors
- Unit vectors have a length of exactly one.
- velocity vectors
- The velocity vectors point in the direction of travel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carriers
- Carriers is a plainer word for creatures or people that spread disease, but vectors is the technical term for organisms that transmit it.
- routes
- Routes is general and works for any path, whereas vectors in security means a specific method of attack.
- arrows
- Arrows describes how vectors are drawn, but not the mathematical idea of direction plus size.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: vectors or scalars? vectors or victors?
vectors vs scalars
Scalars have size only, such as mass or temperature, while vectors have size and direction.
vectors vs victors
Victors are winners; the word sounds similar to vectors but is unrelated.
Practice
In physics, which pair are both vectors?
Choose one answer.
Force and velocity have direction as well as size. The other pairs are scalars, so they have size only.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vectors”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.