Vector Notation

Vector Notation

This page is an overview of the common notations used when working with vectors, which may be spatial or more abstract members of vector spaces.

The common typographic convention for representing a vector is upright boldface type, as in v for a vector named ‘v’. In handwriting, where boldface type is either unavailable or unwieldy, vectors are often represented with right-pointing arrows or harpoons above their names, as in . Shorthand notations include tildes and straight lines placed above or below the name of a vector.