vat

¹ American  

[vat] / væt /

noun

1. a large container, as a tub or tank, used for storing or holding liquids.

   a wine vat.

2. Chemistry.

   1. a preparation containing an insoluble dye converted by reduction into a soluble leuco base.

   2. a vessel containing such a preparation.

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verb (used with object)

vatted, vatting

1. to put into or treat in a vat.

VAT ² American  

noun

1. value-added tax.

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Vat. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Vatican.

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vat ¹ British  

/ væt /

noun

1. a large container for holding or storing liquids

2. chem a preparation of reduced vat dye

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verb

1. (tr) to place, store, or treat in a vat

Vat. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Vatican

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VAT ³ British  

/ væt /

abbreviation

1. value-added tax: a tax levied on the difference between the cost of materials and the selling price of a commodity or service

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Other Word Forms

• unvatted adjective

Etymology

Origin of vat

before 1100; Middle English (south); Old English fæt vessel; cognate with Old Norse fat vessel, German Fass keg

Example Sentences

I'm peering into a large vat containing a perfectly clear liquid – a special kind of flame retardant for wood products.

From BBC

The real-estate investor took off her shoes, sanitized her feet and waded into a giant vat filled to the brim with juicy grapes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Industrially, vats of genetically engineered E. coli act like living factories producing a variety of products from pharmaceuticals like insulin, vital for diabetes management, to various platform chemicals used to make fuels and solvents.

From BBC

The room itself is about the size of a football pitch, and home to row after row of huge metal vats within which chemical reactions force the different rare earths apart.

From BBC

“Well, you’d be hard to understand too if you drank two vats of coffee, two vats of wine and took 25 Vicodin a day.”

From Los Angeles Times