vehicle

vehicle — noun

1. a machine with a motor and wheels, for example a car, bus, or truck, that people

1.nounA2
Definition

a machine with a motor and wheels, for example a car, bus, or truck, that people ride in to travel or to carry their things to another place

Example

Felix parked his vehicle in the underground garage near the office.

parked his vehicle: used for where a car is kept

Hundreds of vehicles were stuck in a traffic jam on the main highway.

plural: hundreds of vehicles in traffic situations

Common collocations
  • park a vehicle
  • drive a vehicle
  • electric vehicle
  • motor vehicle
  • stolen vehicle
  • heavy vehicle
  • private vehicle
Synonyms
  • car

    the most common personal vehicle for 4-5 passengers; narrower than vehicle

  • automobile

    formal or technical term for a car; far less common in everyday speech

  • truck

    a large vehicle for carrying goods, not passengers

  • van

    a box-shaped vehicle for carrying groups of people or cargo

Grammar Patterns

a vehicle

vehicle + for + purpose

vehicle + of + type

in/on + a vehicle

Usage Note

Vehicle is a general term that covers cars, trucks, vans, buses, and motorcycles. When the context is clear, speakers often prefer a more specific word such as car or truck.

Common Mistakes

She drives a vehicle named Toyota Corolla.
She drives a Toyota Corolla.
Use car (not vehicle) when referring to a specific make or model.
I saw a strange vehicle walking down the street.
I saw a strange vehicle driving down the street.
Vehicles are driven, not walked.

2. something that is used as a way to communicate ideas, feelings, or messages, or

2.nounB2
Definition

something that is used as a way to communicate ideas, feelings, or messages, or as a means to achieve a particular result — for example, using art to express political views, or sport to teach values

Example

Art can be a powerful vehicle for social change and political protest.

vehicle for [purpose/change]

The internet has become the main vehicle for spreading news and information.

Common collocations
  • vehicle for change
  • vehicle for expression
  • vehicle for promoting
  • serve as a vehicle
  • become a vehicle
  • use something as a vehicle
Synonyms
  • medium

    more specific to artistic or creative expression; vehicle can also refer to practical goals

  • channel

    focuses on the path through which something flows (e.g. a channel for information)

  • instrument

    stresses the tool-like, practical function of achieving something

  • tool

    more concrete and hands-on than vehicle; less metaphorical

Grammar Patterns

a vehicle + for + noun phrase

a vehicle + to-infinitive

serve as a vehicle

become a vehicle

Usage Note

Frequently followed by the preposition for (a vehicle for change) or by a to-infinitive (a vehicle to promote). Uncommon in informal conversation — it belongs more to writing and public speech.

Common Mistakes

Language is a vehicle of communication.
Language is a vehicle for communication.
In this sense, vehicle is almost always followed by for or to, not of.
Music is a transportation for emotions.
Music is a vehicle for emotions.
Do not confuse the abstract sense with the transport sense by using transportation.

3. a film, TV show, play, or song that is designed mainly to highlight the particul

3.nounC1
Definition

a film, TV show, play, or song that is designed mainly to highlight the particular talents of a single performer or artist

Example

The director wrote the film as a vehicle for the famous singer's acting debut.

vehicle for [performer]: designed to showcase talent

This Broadway musical is a perfect vehicle for a performer who sings and dances.

Common collocations
  • star vehicle
  • vehicle for an actor
  • vehicle for talents
  • film vehicle
  • musical vehicle
Synonyms
  • showcase

    a more general term; a showcase is the event itself, while a vehicle is the work designed for it

  • star vehicle

    an idiomatic expression exactly matching this sense; used in film criticism

Grammar Patterns

a vehicle + for + performer

a vehicle + to showcase

vehicle + for + talent/ability/skill

Usage Note

Almost always followed by for + performer or talent. This sense is specific to the entertainment industry and is not used for everyday activities.

Common Mistakes

This book is a vehicle for the author's writing.
This book showcases the author's writing.
Showcase vehicle typically refers to film, TV, theatre, or music, not books.
The training program is a vehicle for the coach's methods.
The training program was not written as an entertainment vehicle for the coach.
The original was identical; changed to show the correct usage of the entertainment sense.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Vehicle is the broadest term, covering any machine that carries people or goods on land. Car is the most common specific word — it refers to a small, private passenger vehicle for four to five people with a boot or trunk. Automobile is a formal or technical synonym for car; it appears in legal documents and manufacturing contexts but sounds unnatural in everyday conversation ('I bought a new automobile' is stilted). Truck (lorry in British English) describes a large vehicle designed primarily for carrying goods, while van is a medium-sized box-shaped vehicle used for either cargo or small groups of passengers. For everyday use: say car when you mean a private passenger vehicle; use vehicle when you need a general term that includes trucks, vans, and buses.

car ↗automobile ↗truck ↗van ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • illegally parked
  • privately owned
  • commercially used

Phrases

  • as a vehicle for
  • serve as a vehicle
  • motor vehicle
  • vehicle registration

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Vehicle comes from the Latin word vehiculum, meaning a carriage or a means of transport, which itself comes from vehere, meaning to carry. It entered English through French in the 1600s, first used for any form of transport on land. By the mid-1900s, its meaning extended metaphorically to describe anything that carries an idea or message from one person to another.