vein

noun

• 1any of the tubes forming part of the blood circulation system of the body, carrying in most cases oxygen-depleted blood toward the heart. Compare with artery.
• (in general and figurative use) a blood vessel:he felt the adrenaline course through his veins
• (in plants) a slender rib running through a leaf or bract, typically dividing or branching, and containing a vascular bundle.
• (in insects) a hardened branching rib that forms part of the supporting framework of a wing, consisting of an extension of the tracheal system; a nervure.

• 2a fracture in rock containing a deposit of minerals or ore and typically having an extensive course underground.
• a streak or stripe of a different color in wood, marble, cheese, etc..
• a body of subsurface water, especially as considered a source or potential source of water for a well or wells and thought of as flowing in a channel.
• a source of a specified quality or other abstract resource:he managed to tap into the thick vein of discontent to his own advantage

• 3 [in singular] a distinctive quality, style, or tendency:he closes his article in a somewhat humorous vein