Standard Lemma guide

vessel

noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈvɛsəl/
  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: [ˈvɛsɫ̩]
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈvesəl/
  • rhymes with -ɛsəl
  • CMU ARPABET: V EH1 S AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.

Any craft designed for transportation on or in water, such as a ship, boat, or submarine.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: nautical, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: watercraft

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: vessel, vehicle

2

noun

Meaning 2

A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.

A craft designed for transportation through air or space.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Dishes and cutlery collectively, especially if made of precious metals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dialectal, obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A container of liquid or other substance, such as a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A person as a container of qualities or feelings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • A teacher should be a vessel of knowledge.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

Examples

  • Blood and lymph vessels are found in humans; xylem and phloem vessels are found in plants.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To put into a vessel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • 1577, William Harrison, The Description of England in Holinshed’s Chronicles, Volume 1, Book 3, Chapter 12 “Of venemous beastes &c.,” Our hony also is taken and reputed to be the best bycause it is harder, better wrought & clenlyer vesselled vp, thẽ that which cõmeth from beyond the sea, where they stampe and straine their combes, Bées, & young Blow|inges altogither into the stuffe, as I haue béene informed.
  • 1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: or, A Naturall Historie, London: W. Lee, Cent. VI, section 529, p. 137, The fourth Rule shall be, to marke what Herbs, some Earths doe put fourth of themselves; And to take that Earth, and to Pot it, or to Vessell it; And in that to set the Seed you would change [...]

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a craft designed for water transportation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: watercraft

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: craft

Narrower terms: bareboat, boat, fishing boat, fishing smack, fishing vessel, galley, iceboat, ice yacht, scooter, patrol boat, patrol ship, sailing vessel, sailing ship, ship, shrimper, weather ship, yacht, racing yacht, Merrimac, Monitor

9

noun

Meaning 9

an object used as a container (especially for liquids)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: container

Narrower terms: autoclave, sterilizer, steriliser, barrel, cask, basin, bath, bathtub, bathing tub, tub, bedpan, boiler, steam boiler, bone-ash cup, cupel, refractory pot, bottle, feeding bottle, nursing bottle, bowl, bucket, pail, censer, thurible, churn, butter churn, crucible, melting pot, drinking vessel, drum, metal drum, eyecup, eyebath, eye cup, flagon, jar, ladle, monstrance, ostensorium, mortar, muller, pitcher, ewer, poacher, pot, retort, steeper, tank, storage tank, tin, vat, urceole, water jacket, well

10

noun

Meaning 10

a tube in which a body fluid circulates

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vas

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tube, tube-shaped structure

Narrower terms: blood vessel

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wāss Latin vās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elom Latin -ulum Latin -culum Latin vāsculum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Late Latin vāscellum Old French vaisselbor. Middle English vessel English vessel Inherited from Middle English vessel, vessell (“small container”); from Old French vaissel (compare modern French vaisseau and Catalan vaixell), from Late Latin vāscellum, diminutive of vāsculum, diminutive of vās (“vase, vessel”).

Across languages

Translations

293 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: anë — craft
  • Arabic: فُلْك (fulk) — craft
  • Azerbaijani: gəmi — craft
  • Belarusian: судзі́на (sudzína) — craft
  • Belarusian: су́дзіна (súdzina) — craft
  • Belarusian: су́дна (súdna) — craft
  • Belarusian: карабе́ль (karabjélʹ) — craft
  • Bulgarian: плава́телен съд (plavátelen sǎd) — craft
  • Bulgarian: ко́раб (kórab) — craft
  • Burmese: သင်္ဘော (sangbhau:) — craft
  • Catalan: vaixell — craft
  • Chinese Mandarin: 船隻 /船只 (chuánzhī) — craft
  • Chinese Mandarin: 船 (chuán) — craft
  • Czech: loď — craft
  • Czech: plavidlo — craft
  • Danish: fartøj — craft
  • Dutch: vaartuig — craft
  • Faroese: far — craft
  • Finnish: alus — craft
  • French: vaisseau — craft
  • West-Frisian: doaze — craft
  • Galician: navío — craft
  • Georgian: ხომალდი (xomaldi) — craft
  • Georgian: გემი (gemi) — craft
  • German: Schiff — craft
  • German: Boot — craft
  • German: Wasserfahrzeug — craft
  • Greek: σκάφος (skáfos) — craft
  • Greek: πλοίο (ploío) — craft
  • Ancient Greek: πλοίον (ploíon) — craft
  • Gujarati: વહાણ (vahāṇ) — craft
  • Gujarati: જહાજ (jahāj) — craft
  • Hindi: पोत (pot) — craft
  • Hungarian: vízi jármű — craft
  • Hungarian: hajó — craft
  • Icelandic: æð — craft
  • Indonesian: kapal — craft
  • Indonesian: perahu — craft
  • Ingrian: alus — craft
  • Ingrian: laiva — craft
  • Ingrian: soimi — craft
  • Italian: vascello — craft
  • Italian: imbarcazione — craft
  • Italian: bastimento — craft
  • Italian: nave — craft
  • Italian: barca — craft
  • Italian: barcone — craft
  • Italian: chiatta — craft
  • Italian: transatlantico — craft
  • Japanese: 船舶 (senpaku) — craft
  • Kazakh: кеме (keme) — craft
  • Kazakh: қайық (qaiyq) — craft
  • Khmer: នាវា (niəviə) — craft
  • Khmer: ភេត្រា (pheitraa) — craft
  • Korean: 배 (bae) — craft
  • Korean: 선박 (seonbak) — craft
  • Kyrgyz: кеме (keme) — craft
  • Lao: ກໍ່າປັ່ນ (kam pan) — craft
  • Lao: ເຮືອ (hư̄a) — craft
  • Macedonian: пло́вило (plóvilo) — craft
  • Macedonian: ко́раб (kórab) — craft
  • Malay: kapal — craft
  • Malay: bot — craft
  • Māori: waka — craft
  • Classical Nahuatl: acalli — craft
  • Navajo: tsin naaʼeeł — craft
  • Norwegian Bokmål: fartøy — craft
  • Norwegian Bokmål: farkost — craft
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: fartøy — craft
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: farkost — craft
  • Occitan: vaissèl — craft
  • Old East Slavic: судьно (sudĭno) — craft
  • Iranian Persian: کَشْتی (kašti) — craft
  • Polish: statek — craft
  • Portuguese: barco — craft
  • Portuguese: navio — craft
  • Portuguese: embarcação — craft
  • Romanian: ambarcațiune — craft
  • Romanian: vas — craft
  • Russian: су́дно (súdno) — craft
  • Russian: кора́бль (koráblʹ) — craft
  • Skolt-Sami: leˊtt — craft
  • Sardinian: feluga — craft
  • Sardinian: filuga — craft
  • Sardinian: feluca — craft
  • Serbo-Croatian: бро̑д — craft
  • Serbo-Croatian: brȏd — craft
  • Slovak: loď — craft
  • Slovak: plavidlo — craft
  • Slovene: plovilo — craft
  • Slovene: ladja — craft
  • Spanish: embarcación — craft
  • Spanish: barco — craft
  • Spanish: casco — craft
  • Spanish: bajel — craft
  • Swedish: fartyg — craft
  • Tajik: киштӣ (kišti) — craft
  • Tajik: кема (kema) — craft
  • Telugu: ఓడ (ōḍa) — craft
  • Ternate: oti — craft
  • Thai: เรือ (rʉʉa) — craft
  • Turkish: tekne — craft
  • Turkish: gemi — craft
  • Ottoman Turkish: تكنه (tekne) — craft
  • Turkmen: gämi — craft
  • Ukrainian: судно́ (sudnó) — craft
  • Ukrainian: корабе́ль (korabélʹ) — craft
  • Urdu: جَہاز (jahāz) — craft
  • Uyghur: كېمە (këme) — craft
  • Uzbek: kema — craft
  • Vietnamese: thuyền lớn — craft
  • Vietnamese: tàu thuỷ — craft
  • Vietnamese: tàu — craft
  • Welsh: llestr — craft
  • Welsh: cwch — craft
  • Southern Altai: тамыр (tamïr) — container
  • Arabic: وِعَاء (wiʕāʔ) — container
  • Armenian: անոթ (anotʻ) — container
  • Aromanian: vas — container
  • Bashkir: һауыт (hawıt) — container
  • Belarusian: пасу́дзіна (pasúdzina) — container
  • Bulgarian: съд (sǎd) — container
  • Bulgarian: съди́на (sǎdína) — container
  • Buryat: һаба (haba) — container
  • Catalan: recipient — container
  • Chinese Mandarin: 容器 (róngqì) — container
  • Czech: nádoba — container
  • Dutch: vat — container
  • Dutch: hulsel — container
  • Esperanto: vazo — container
  • Esperanto: ingo — container
  • Finnish: astia — container
  • Finnish: säiliö — container
  • French: récipient — container
  • French: vaisseau — container
  • French: vase — container
  • West-Frisian: fet — container
  • West-Frisian: bokse — container
  • Galician: vasilla — container
  • Galician: perfia — container
  • Galician: recipiente — container
  • Georgian: ჭურჭელი (č̣urč̣eli) — container
  • German: Gefäß — container
  • German: Behälter — container
  • German: Behältnis — container
  • Greek: σκεύος (skévos) — container
  • Greek: δοχείο (docheío) — container
  • Greek: αγγείο (angeío) — container
  • Ancient Greek: σκεῦος (skeûos) — container
  • Ancient Greek: ἀγγεῖον (angeîon) — container
  • Ancient Greek: ἄγγος (ángos) — container
  • Gujarati: વાસણ (vāsaṇ) — container
  • Hebrew: כְּלִי (kli) — container
  • Hindi: पात्र (pātra) — container
  • Hindi: बर्तन (bartan) — container
  • Hungarian: edény — container
  • Hungarian: tál — container
  • Ido: vazo — container
  • Irish: leastar — container
  • Irish: áras — container
  • Irish: galún — container
  • Irish: soitheach — container
  • Old Irish: lestar — container
  • Italian: recipiente — container
  • Italian: contenitore — container
  • Italian: brocca — container
  • Italian: caraffa — container
  • Italian: bricco — container
  • Italian: cuccuma — container
  • Italian: boccale — container
  • Japanese: 容器 (yōki) — container
  • Kazakh: ыдыс (ydys) — container
  • Korean: 그릇 (geureut) — container
  • Korean: 용기 (yonggi) — container
  • Kumyk: тамур (tamur) — container
  • Kumyk: савут (sawut) — container
  • Kyrgyz: идиш (idiş) — container
  • Latgalian: trauks — container
  • Latin: vās — container
  • Latin: Latin: receptāculum — container
  • Latvian: trauks — container
  • Macedonian: сад (sad) — container
  • Malayalam: കലം (kalaṁ) — container
  • Māori: puoto — container
  • Māori: oko — container
  • Māori: peihana — container
  • Māori: tīhake — container
  • Marathi: भांडे (bhāṇḍe) — container
  • Mongolian: сав (sav) — container
  • Occitan: recipient — container
  • Iranian Persian: ظَرْف (zarf) — container
  • Plautdietsch: Behelta — container
  • Plautdietsch: Jefäss — container
  • Polish: naczynie — container
  • Portuguese: vasilha — container
  • Portuguese: vaso — container
  • Portuguese: reservatório — container
  • Portuguese: recipiente — container
  • Romanian: recipient — container
  • Romanian: vas — container
  • Russian: сосу́д (sosúd) — container
  • Slovak: nádoba — container
  • Slovak: schránka — container
  • Slovene: posoda — container
  • Spanish: recipiente — container
  • Spanish: vaso — container
  • Spanish: vasija — container
  • Spanish: cascajo — container
  • Spanish: tiesto — container
  • Swedish: behållare — container
  • Tajik: зарф (zarf) — container
  • Tajik: ҷогаҳ (jogah) — container
  • Telugu: పాత్ర (pātra) — container
  • Thai: ภาชนะ (paa-chá-ná) — container
  • Tocharian B: lwāke — container
  • Turkish: kap — container
  • Ukrainian: посу́дина (posúdyna) — container
  • Urdu: ظَرْف (zarf) — container
  • Urdu: باسَن (bāsan) — container
  • Urdu: بَرْتَن (bartan) — container
  • Uzbek: idish — container
  • Vietnamese: vò — container
  • Vietnamese: hũ — container
  • Welsh: llestr — container
  • Arabic: وِعَاء (wiʕāʔ) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Armenian: անոթ (anotʻ) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Azerbaijani: damar — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Bashkir: тамыр (tamır) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Belarusian: су́дзіна (súdzina) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Belarusian: судзі́на (sudzína) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Belarusian: сасу́д (sasúd) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Belarusian: пасу́дзіна (pasúdzina) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Bulgarian: съд (sǎd) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Catalan: vas — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 管 (guǎn) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 血管 (xuèguǎn, xiěguǎn) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Czech: céva — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Dutch: vat — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Estonian: soon — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Finnish: suoni — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Finnish: putkilo — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • French: vaisseau — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Galician: vaso — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Georgian: ჭურჭელი (č̣urč̣eli) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • German: Gefäß — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Greek: αγγείο (angeío) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Gujarati: નસ (nas) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Hindi: नस (nas) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Hungarian: véredény — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Hungarian: ér — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Icelandic: æð — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Italian: vaso — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Japanese: 血管 (kekkan) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Kazakh: тамыр (tamyr) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Khmer: សរសៃ (sɑɑ say) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Khmer: ស្នាយុ (snaayuʼ) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Khmer: នហារុ (nĕəʼhaaruʼ) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Korean: 관 (gwan) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Korean: 혈관 (hyeolgwan) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Kyrgyz: тамыр (tamır) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Lao: ເສັ້ນເລືອດ (sen lư̄at) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Latvian: vads — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Lithuanian: gysla — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Macedonian: сад (sad) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Macedonian: жи́ла (žíla) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Marathi: रक्तवाहिनी (raktavāhinī) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Mongolian: судас (sudas) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Mongolian: ᠰᠤᠳᠠᠰᠤ (sudasu) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Iranian Persian: آوَنْد (âvand) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Iranian Persian: رَگ (rag) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Polish: naczynie — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Portuguese: vaso — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Romanian: vas — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Russian: сосу́д (sosúd) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Serbo-Croatian: су̑д — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Serbo-Croatian: жи̏ла — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Serbo-Croatian: sȗd — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Serbo-Croatian: žȉla — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Slovak: cieva — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Slovene: žíla — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Spanish: vaso — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Tajik: раг (rag) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Tajik: ованд (ovand) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Tatar: тамыр (tamır) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Thai: เส้นเลือด (sên-lʉ̂ʉat) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Tok Pisin: mambu — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Turkish: damar — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Turkmen: damar — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Ukrainian: суди́на (sudýna) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Uyghur: تومۇر (tomur) — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Uzbek: tomir — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Vietnamese: mạch — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
  • Welsh: llestr — tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant
Real reading context

vessel in complete knowledge articles