Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun vector

4 senses of vector

Sense 1
vector -- (a variable quantity that can be resolved into components)
       => variable, variable quantity -- (a quantity that can assume any of a set of values)

Sense 2
vector -- (a straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose orientation in space is direction)
       => straight line -- (a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature; "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line")

Sense 3
vector, transmitter -- (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")
       => agent -- (an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect; "their research uncovered new disease agents")

Sense 4
vector -- ((genetics) a virus or other agent that is used to deliver DNA to a cell)
       => virus -- ((virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein)