vat

¹

[vat]

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.

verb (used with object)

vatted, vatting 

1. to put into or treat in a vat.

VAT

²

noun

1. value-added tax.

Vat.

³

abbreviation

1. Vatican.

vat

¹

/ væt /

noun

1. a large container for holding or storing liquids

2. chem a preparation of reduced vat dye

verb

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

Vat.

²

abbreviation

1. Vatican

VAT

³

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• unvatted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vat¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of vat¹

Old English fæt; related to Old Frisian fet, Old Saxon, Old Norse fat, Old High German faz

Example Sentences

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.

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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.

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“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.”

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Growing cells in vats requires energy, as does producing the chemicals that are added.

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Lydia, who paid £10,000 plus vat for tickets and accommodation for two via bank transfer, said she was "absolutely gutted".

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