vacuum
Americannoun
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vacuums,
plural
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vacua
plural
-
a space entirely devoid of matter.
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an enclosed space from which matter, especially air, has been partially removed so that the matter or gas remaining in the space exerts less pressure than the atmosphere (opposed to plenum).
-
the state or degree of exhaustion in such an enclosed space.
-
a space not filled or occupied; emptiness; void.
The loss left a vacuum in his heart.
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a vacuum cleaner or sweeper.
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Physics. a state of lowest energy in a quantum field theory.
adjective
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of, pertaining to, employing, or producing a vacuum.
-
(of a hollow container) partly exhausted of gas or air.
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pertaining to a device or process that makes use of a vacuum to accomplish a desired task.
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noting or pertaining to canning or packaging in which air is removed from the container to prevent deterioration of the contents.
verb (used with object)
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vacuums,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vacuumed,
past participle, past
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vacuuming
present participle
-
to use a vacuum cleaner on; clean with a vacuum cleaner.
to vacuum rugs.
-
to treat with any vacuum device, as a vacuum drier.
verb (used without object)
-
vacuums,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vacuumed,
past participle, past
-
vacuuming
present participle
noun
-
a region containing no matter; free space Compare plenum
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a region in which gas is present at a low pressure
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the degree of exhaustion of gas within an enclosed space
a high vacuum
a perfect vacuum
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a sense or feeling of emptiness
his death left a vacuum in her life
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short for vacuum cleaner
-
(modifier) of, containing, measuring, producing, or operated by a low gas pressure
a vacuum tube
a vacuum brake
verb
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vacuums
plural
-
A region of space in which there is no matter.
-
A region of space having extremely low gas pressure relative to surrounding pressure. The air pump of a vacuum cleaner, for example, drastically reduces the air pressure inside the device, creating a vacuum; the pressure difference causes air to rush into it, carrying dust and debris along with it.
Discover More
In the natural world, air will flow into regions of vacuum, giving rise to the saying “Nature abhors a vacuum.”
The saying is extended informally: in politics, a lack of leadership may be referred to as a vacuum, which will presumably be filled by others rushing in.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
vacuumsimple
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vacuumssimple
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have vacuumedperfect
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has vacuumedperfect
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am vacuumingprogressive
-
are vacuumingprogressive
-
is vacuumingprogressive
-
have been vacuumingperfect progressive
-
has been vacuumingperfect progressive
Past
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vacuumedsimple
-
had vacuumedperfect
-
was vacuumingprogressive
-
were vacuumingprogressive
-
had been vacuumingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vacuum
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin, neuter of vacuus “empty”
Explanation
A vacuum is essentially a great lack of something — a place where virtually all matter, even air, has been removed. It can describe something that's literally empty — or something that just seems that way, like a political vacuum. You probably have a vacuum at home. A humble household appliance named after a principle of physics, the vacuum is a device for sucking up dirt off the ground. It works by creating a vacuum — that is, it sucks all the air out of a particular place so that the surrounding atmospheric pressure will flood in, taking with it all the nacho chips, dog hair, toast crumbs, and whatever else you have lying around your house.
Vocabulary lists containing vacuum
Oh, My Stars! The Language of Outer Space
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Zilch, Zip, Nada: Words For Nothing
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There, I met Dan, an affable middle-aged fellow with gray tufts of hair, who was bustling around with a vacuum.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
The spacecraft successfully completed a broad series of environmental tests, including a thermal vacuum assessment at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
It was also the size of a school bus, had more than 17,000 vacuum tubes and sucked up 150 kilowatts of electricity an hour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The result is a sudden information vacuum at the Fed after more than 15 years of a very open communication style.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
I vacuum the living room every afternoon without being asked.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Sir William Crookes took up in 1872 the study of electric discharge through 192 high vacua, having been led to it by his researches on the radiometer.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various
This applies particularly to vacua as high 1/50,000,000 and to pressures of five millimeters and under.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 303, October 22, 1881 by Various
Gauge.—For the purpose of measuring the vacua I have used an arrangement similar to McLeod's gauge, Figure 4; it has, however, some peculiarities.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 303, October 22, 1881 by Various
The study of apparatus for obtaining more perfect vacua was unceasingly carried on, for Edison realized that in this there lay a potent factor of ultimate success.
From Edison, His Life and Inventions by Frank Lewis Dyer
The composition of the gaseous residue present does not affect phosphorescence; thus, the earth yttria phosphoresces well in the residual vacua of atmospherical air, of oxygen, nitrogen, carbonic anhydride, hydrogen, iodine, sulphur and mercury.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 795, March 28, 1891 by Various
Trapped ions, as the name suggests, are suspended in vacuums and manipulated by lasers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Looking out over the green sludge covered in cleaning equipment, speaking over the hum of the generators and the vacuums and the pumps, Hier smiled.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
Kristi Noem was shown selling handheld vacuums on a home shopping network while Kash Patel and Pete Hegseth were hawking products on their own podcast.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
Lithium-ion batteries have become exceedingly common amid a proliferation of chargeable electronics, including smartphones, laptops, headphones, e-cigarettes, vacuums and e-bikes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
And it somehow vacuums up all the ick and yuck between us, all my mean cockroachy thoughts too.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
A self-professed cleaning fanatic, she said she asked for a vacuum as a 16th birthday present and relishes the plush nap of a freshly vacuumed Porsche carpet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Before “The Studio” vacuumed up 23 Emmy nominations, setting a record for a first-year show, I thought Short might have a shot at winning his first acting Emmy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
If it seems like many of the same series vacuumed up most of the nominations, this is partly why.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2024
Hilton, who had been about to watch his six-year-old son play a baseball game when he received a call, sprayed and vacuumed the bees away.
From BBC ● May 1, 2024
The files on the murders of the Osage contained history in its rawest form: bits of data vacuumed up without any chronology or narrative, like a novel whose pages were out of order.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
What they could’ve done instead: Opt for lighter colors that are more forgiving, or get used to sweeping or vacuuming your floors more often.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Nor should it be all that surprising if some sectors happen to shed jobs—especially considering that one sector is vacuuming up so many workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
Those companies have come under pressure to prove they are adding generation to the power grid, not vacuuming up existing electricity supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Campaigners want a deep clean of all buses more frequently, and the use of insecticidal treatments, heat treatments, improved vacuuming and sealed barriers in known hotspots.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2025
Somehow all this information exhausts me, and I watch the second video, which explains the actual procedures for vacuuming, with the detached interest of a cineast.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
