A vector database, vector store or vector search engine is a database that uses the vector space model to store vectors (fixed-length lists of numbers) along with other data items. Vector databases typically implement one or more approximate nearest neighbor algorithms, so that one can search the database with a query vector to retrieve the closest matching database records.
Vectors are mathematical representations of data in a high-dimensional space. In this space, each dimension corresponds to a feature of the data, with the number of dimensions ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands, depending on the complexity of the data being represented. A vector's position in this space represents its characteristics. Words, phrases, or entire documents, as well as images, audio, and other types of data, can all be vectorized.
