vacuum
[vak-yoom, -yoo-uh m, -yuh m]
- a space entirely devoid of matter.
- 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.
- a vacuum cleaner or sweeper.
- Physics. a state of lowest energy in a quantum field theory.
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- of, pertaining to, employing, or producing a vacuum.
- (of a hollow container) partly exhausted of gas or air.
- pertaining to a device or process that makes use of a vacuum to accomplish a desired task.
- noting or pertaining to canning or packaging in which air is removed from the container to prevent deterioration of the contents.
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- to use a vacuum cleaner on; clean with a vacuum cleaner: to vacuum rugs.
- to treat with any vacuum device, as a vacuum drier.
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- to use a vacuum cleaner: to vacuum in the dining room.
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Origin of vacuum
1540–50; < Latin, neuter of vacuus empty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for vacuum
Contemporary Examples
In a vacuum (translation: but for Obama), this could be a killer year for Democrats.
There are also drones which vacuum the wireless spectrum, picking up tweets, emails, and Skype chats.
We found that even in cases where individuals acted alone, in an operational sense, they were not radicalized in a vacuum.
Rather, he is pointing out what should be obvious but is too often ignored: The court does not operate in a vacuum.
But as Feldman argues, “Nobody raises their child in a vacuum.”
Historical Examples
As for Philip, all seemed a mere negation; there was a vacuum where his place had been.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
There were only a Ruhmkorff coil and Crookes (vacuum) tube and the man himself.
His first search was for a durable filament which would burn in a vacuum.
The Age of InventionHolland Thompson
Plato affirms, almost in so many words, that nature abhors a vacuum.
TimaeusPlato
Yes, it must be that this land is a vacuum, such as I read of when I was a girl in school.
The Flockmaster of Poison CreekGeorge W. Ogden
vacuum
- a region containing no matter; free spaceCompare plenum (def. 3)
- a region in which gas is present at a low pressure
- the degree of exhaustion of gas within an enclosed spacea high vacuum; a perfect vacuum
- a sense or feeling of emptinesshis death left a vacuum in her life
- short for vacuum cleaner
- (modifier) of, containing, measuring, producing, or operated by a low gas pressurea vacuum tube; a vacuum brake
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- to clean (something) with a vacuum cleanerto vacuum a carpet
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin: an empty space, from vacuus empty
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for vacuum
n.
1540s, "emptiness of space," from Latin vacuum "an empty space, void," noun use of neuter of vacuus "empty," related to vacare "be empty" (see vain). Properly a loan-translation of Greek kenon, literally "that which is empty." Meaning "a place emptied of air" is attested from 1650s. Vacuum tube is attested from 1859. Vacuum cleaner is from 1903; shortened form vacuum (n.) first recorded 1910.
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v.
"to clean with a vacuum cleaner," 1922; see vacuum (n.). Related: Vacuumed; vacuuming.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
vacuum
(văk′yōō-əm, -yōōm, -yəm)- Absence of matter.
- A space empty of matter.
- A space relatively empty of matter.
- A space in which the pressure is significantly lower than atmospheric pressure.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
vacuum
[văk′yōōm]
- 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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
vacuum
The absence of matter.
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Note
In the natural world, air will flow into regions of vacuum, giving rise to the saying “Nature abhors a vacuum.”
Note
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.