Definition of "vein" []

• Anatomy Any of the membranous tubes that form a branching system and carry blood to the heart. (noun)
• A blood vessel. (noun)
• Botany One of the vascular bundles or ribs that form the branching framework of conducting and supporting tissues in a leaf or other expanded plant organ. Also called nervure. (noun)
• Zoology One of the horny ribs that stiffen and support the wing of an insect. Also called nervure. (noun)
• Geology A regularly shaped and lengthy occurrence of an ore; a lode. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So calling Viet Nam War deaths in vein is a very loaded signal."
• "In the same genre but a somewhat different vein is Roger Sessions's little book "The Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, Listener" (1950)."
• "In the same genre but a somewhat different vein is Roger Sessions's "The Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, Listener" (1950)."