noun

• 1A ship or large boat.

  ‘The bridge only opens with two keys, at the moment it is high and open, which would allow ships and other nautical vessels to pass beneath us.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘An intensive search for the vessel's mother ship was mounted but nothing found.’
  • ‘It said about 35,409 ships and vessels have returned to ports.’
  • ‘The survey was also very useful for targeting international yacht and domestic vessels to monitor quarantine compliance.’
  • ‘Over 60 volunteers braved the flood waters in canoes, boats and vessels of all shapes and sizes as the search continued yesterday.’
  • ‘Once the document was on the ship, the vessel was allowed to anchor.’
  • ‘Small vessels (mostly motor boats) provide the sole means of transporting food and other goods utilized by the community.’
  • ‘In a lake about 11 miles long and under a mile at its widest, not only is there not much scope for a sea-going vessel but under sail these vessels pose some threat to smaller boats.’
  • ‘Of those, 16 fishing vessels were detained and 113 written warnings issued for various offences.’
  • ‘Large merchant vessels have to slow down, making it easier for pirates to pursue their prey.’
  • ‘In some parts of the world it is all too easy to board a merchant vessel unlawfully.’
  • ‘Finally, I saw on the horizon a large naval vessel.’
  • ‘Forty tonnes of marine diesel are still thought to be on board the sunken vessel.’
  • ‘Since May, more than 98 vessels have been boarded for inspection.’
  • ‘In the right hands it is probably the most adaptable and seaworthy vessel afloat.’
  • ‘Assisting a cargo vessel approach its berth she got into difficulties and capsized.’
  • ‘Various factories in and near the harbour area specialize in keeping the extensive trawler fleet and other vessels seaworthy.’
  • ‘Recent examples include photographing industrial plants, bridges, and vessels at sea.’
  • ‘The typhoon, which sank 18 vessels and broke 13 container cranes at ports, has caused millions of pounds worth of damage so far.’
  • ‘It would take him about 10 minutes to walk round the vessel and check the containers.’

  Synonyms

  boat, sailing boat, ship, yacht, craft, watercraft

  View synonyms

• 2A hollow container, especially one used to hold liquid, such as a bowl or cask.

  ‘Once you decide on the drinking vessel (goblet, bowl, mug or stein), you need to get it from the shelves.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘It can only obtain a liquid state under very high pressure in a containment vessel.’
  • ‘Glass containers, ceramic vessels and galvanised cans brimming with an array of cacti, gerbera and orchids are available for your mum's Mother's Day delectation.’
  • ‘Two landmines went off in our faces, drenching us both with warm milk, the pressure too much to be contained in the transparent vessels before us.’
  • ‘Proceeds are earmarked for vessels and containers, and to repay loans.’
  • ‘Rugs, throws, wall hangings, vessels and bowls, scarves and brooches are all included.’
  • ‘Our descent into hell was caused by a bolt of lightening striking, with unerring accuracy, a vessel which contained a chemical that doesn't get on well with sources of ignition.’
  • ‘In front of the statue and behind the platform is a huge vessel that contained oil to light a so-called ‘Everlasting Lamp’.’
  • ‘The most common form of vessels were cups, bowls or jugs used for storage of liquid or dry consumer goods.’
  • ‘The refilling vessel contains liquid water and gas.’
  • ‘Big punch bowls make supersize serving vessels.’
  • ‘Five of the vessels from four burials contain clay residues, suggesting that pigments had been stored in them when they were placed in the graves.’
  • ‘Officers found each of the vessels contained protected fish.’
  • ‘In Scandinavia many bowls and cooking vessels have been found carved from soapstone, or steatite, a mineral that is very heat tolerant.’
  • ‘For a start, we know next to nothing about what ceramic vessels contained.’
  • ‘He knew he should have immediately collected the spilled magic and contained it in a vessel for later use.’
  • ‘It took little more than a minute before all of the creature was contained in the little vessel.’
  • ‘Besides, the distribution of the carbon was uneven, and vessels with large quantities alternated with vessels which contained very little carbon or none.’
  • ‘Hundreds of years later, glass vessels were shaped to contain water, perfumes, and other liquids and items.’
  • ‘When the glass had cooled, the clay/sand model was carefully scraped out of the container, leaving the hollow glass vessel.’

  Synonyms

  container, receptacle, repository, holder, carrier

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  1. 2.1(chiefly in biblical use) a person regarded as having or embodying a particular quality.
     ‘Lord, use this lowly vessel, let me serve You as You will’
     More example sentences

     • ‘We need to remember that God puts the treasure of his gospel in earthen vessels.’
     • ‘It's not the gospel that is so fragile but we, the vessels - and it's OK for us to be fragile, to be weak and sinful, to be utterly human.’
     • ‘They were ‘servants’ and ‘instruments’ as well as passive vessels in contemplation.’
     • ‘Yes, the vessels are quite different; we are of various cultures, languages, colors, and races.’
     • ‘I care not for weakness if you say that I am not enough of a vessel to contain you.’

• 3Anatomy Zoology
  A duct or canal holding or conveying blood or other fluid.

  See also blood vessel

  ‘And consuming too much alcohol also can dilate the blood vessels in the skin, giving it a reddish hue.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘They also have a similarity to the small blood vessels damaged in long-standing diabetes.’
  • ‘These help constrict dilated vessels of the nose and help water eyes.’
  • ‘For each examined sample, the entire thickness of the vessel wall was imaged.’
  • ‘Some strokes are due to a bleed from a vessel in the brain rather than a clot.’

  Synonyms

  duct, tube, channel, passage, pipe

  View synonyms

  1. 3.1Botany Any of the tubular structures in the vascular system of a plant, serving to conduct water and mineral nutrients from the root.
     ‘The fungus plugs up the tree's vascular system, the collection of tiny vessels that transports water and nutrients to the plant cells.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The finely porous membranes are designed to allow the flow of water between adjacent vessels while preventing the passage of gas bubbles and pathogens.’
     • ‘Throughout most of the day, when the plant is transpiring, these vessels will contain water under substantial hydraulic tension.’
     • ‘There was no movement of dye between them, indicating that vessels did not criss-cross between adjacent vascular bundles.’
     • ‘In the roots one part may be deposited in the tissue and another part recirculated to the xylem vessels.’