Searchplex ID Retrieval terminology registry

GeneralConcept

Vector Search

Canonical ID https://id.searchplex.net/vector-search/

A broad practitioner term for retrieving items using vector representations and vector similarity or distance operations.

Scope

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.

Observed terms

Related

Not equivalent to

  • Vector Search is not Dense Retrieval. Vector search is broader than dense retrieval and can include sparse, binary, multi-vector, or other vector representations.
  • Vector Search is not Semantic Search. Vector search names a retrieval mechanism; semantic search names a user-facing retrieval goal or product capability.

ID