Meaning & use
vehicle
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Meanings
nouncountable
A machine such as a car, bus or truck that carries people or goods from place to place.
Grammar: Countable: a vehicle, three vehicles. It covers many types of transport.
Patterns
- drive a vehicle
- a motor vehicle
Only emergency vehicles may use this lane.
The vehicle skidded on the wet road.
Electric vehicles are becoming more popular.
nouncountablefigurative
A way of expressing, achieving or spreading an idea, feeling or goal.
Grammar: Figurative use, usually followed by for: a vehicle for change.
Patterns
- a vehicle for something
- a vehicle of something
The campaign became a vehicle for social reform.
Poetry was her vehicle for expressing grief.
The film is a vehicle for its famous young star.
nouncountabletechnical
A liquid or substance that carries a medicine, pigment or other ingredient.
Grammar: A technical sense used in pharmacy and art materials.
Patterns
- a vehicle for a drug
- a vehicle for pigment
Oil is the vehicle that carries the pigment in oil paint.
Saline serves as a vehicle for the medicine.
The cream acts as a vehicle for the active ingredient.
Word forms
| plural | vehicles |
|---|
Common combinations
- motor vehicle
- It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle without a license.
- emergency vehicle
- Drivers must pull over for an emergency vehicle.
- a vehicle for change
- Education can be a vehicle for change.
- electric vehicle
- They bought an electric vehicle to save on fuel.
- abandoned vehicle
- Police found an abandoned vehicle near the river.
Synonyms and how they differ
- car
- Car is one particular type of vehicle, whereas vehicle also covers trucks, buses and vans.
- transport
- Transport usually names the system or act of moving things, while vehicle names the machine itself.
- means
- Means is the general word for a method, whereas vehicle in the figurative sense suggests a particular tool used to carry an idea.
- medium
- Medium refers to a channel of communication, such as television, and is close to the figurative use of vehicle.
Word family
Commonly confused: vehicle or vehical?
vehicle vs vehical
This is a common misspelling; the correct spelling ends in -icle, vehicle.
Practice
The charity gala became a ____ for the mayor's reelection campaign.
Choose one answer.
A vehicle for something is a means of carrying or advancing it. A vessel holds things, an engine powers something and a route is a path, none of which fit the usual pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vehicle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.