vase

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun An open container, as of glass or porcelain, used for holding flowers or for ornamentation.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A hollow vessel, generally high in proportion to its horizontal diameter, and decorative in character and purpose.
• noun Hence An object designed usually for ornament, but sometimes for other specific purposes, having somewhat the form and appearance of the vessel in the primary sense.
• noun The body of the Corinthian and Composite capital: sometimes called tambour or drum.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A vessel adapted for various domestic purposes, and anciently for sacrificial uses; especially, a vessel of antique or elegant pattern used for ornament; See Illust. of Portland vase, under Portland.
• noun A vessel similar to that described in the first definition above, or the representation of one in a solid block of stone, or the like, used for an ornament, as on a terrace or in a garden. See Illust. of Niche.
• noun The body, or naked ground, of the Corinthian and Composite capital; -- called also tambour, and drum.
• noun (Bot.) The calyx of a plant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A container used mainly for displaying fresh, dried, or artificial flowers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an open jar of glass or porcelain used as an ornament or to hold flowers