{
  "definition": "A broad practitioner term for retrieving items using vector representations and vector similarity or distance operations.",
  "derivedRelations": [
    {
      "target": "dense-passage-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "id": "vector-search",
  "kind": "GeneralConcept",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-12T21:39:00Z",
  "prefLabel": "Vector Search",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Vector search is broader than dense retrieval and can include sparse, binary, multi-vector, or other vector representations.",
      "target": "dense-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Vector search names a retrieval mechanism; semantic search names a user-facing retrieval goal or product capability.",
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "dense-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "multi-vector-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "single-vector-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/vector-search/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/vector-search.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/vector-search.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "In current industry usage, vector search often refers specifically to dense nearest-neighbor retrieval, but the term itself can also encompass sparse, binary, multi-vector, or other vector representations.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Vector Retrieval",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/vector-search/"
}