vector space
noun Mathematics.
an additive group in which addition is commutative and with which is associated a field of scalars, as the field of real numbers, such that the product of a scalar and an element of the group or a vector is defined, the product of two scalars times a vector is associative, one times a vector is the vector, and two distributive laws hold.
Also called
linear space.
Origin of vector space
First recorded in 1940–45
Words nearby vector space
vector field,
vector font,
vector function,
vector graphic,
vector product,
vector space,
vector sum,
vectorcardiogram,
vectorcardiography,
vectorial,
vecture
British Dictionary definitions for vector space
vector space
noun
maths
a mathematical structure consisting of a set of objects (vectors) associated with a field of objects (scalars), such that the set constitutes an Abelian group and a further operation, scalar multiplication, is defined in which the product of a scalar and a vector is a vector
See also scalar multiplication
Scientific definitions for vector space
vector space
A set of generalized vectors and a field of scalars, together with rules for their addition and multiplication (the same rules used for ordinary vectors and scalars).