vacuum
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 vacuum cleaner or sweeper.
Physics. a state of lowest energy in a quantum field theory.
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.
to use a vacuum cleaner on; clean with a vacuum cleaner: to vacuum rugs.
to treat with any vacuum device, as a vacuum drier.
to use a vacuum cleaner: to vacuum in the dining room.
Origin of vacuum
1Other words from vacuum
- non·vac·u·um, adjective, noun, plural non·vac·u·ums, non·vac·u·a.
Words Nearby vacuum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use vacuum in a sentence
To do so, astrobiologists took their experiments to space to see how terrestrial life holds up in this harsh environment, where the vacuum, lack of oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and extreme temperatures would seem to preclude it.
Clumps of bacteria could spread life between planets | Paola Rosa-Aquino | August 27, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIn fact, inflation comes together with a recipe for the quantum state of fields in the inflationary epoch, a so-called Bunch-Davies vacuum.
Schrödinger’s Cat When Nobody Is Looking - Issue 89: The Dark Side | Daniel Sudarsky | August 26, 2020 | NautilusThat demise would not be a result of expansion or contraction, but due to a phenomenon called vacuum decay.
‘The End of Everything’ explores the ways the universe could perish | Emily Conover | August 4, 2020 | Science NewsAs the pandemic worsened over the summer, the lack of clear state guidance about how and if to reopen schools was creating another vacuum.
How Los Angeles and San Diego Unified Started Driving State Education Policy | Will Huntsberry | July 29, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoThe vacuum re-creates the downward pull of gravity, planting the person’s feet firmly on the floor of the chamber and drawing bodily fluids toward the legs.
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars? | Maria Temming | July 15, 2020 | Science News
But politicians abhor a rhetorical vacuum, and they have clamored to fill it.
Every conspiracy theory starts with an information vacuum, which then tumbles into fantasy.
The Intern Who Birthed The KAL007 Conspiracy Theories | Tim Mak | September 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn a vacuum (translation: but for Obama), this could be a killer year for Democrats.
Biggest Midterm Issue? The Obamaphant in the Living Room | Dean Obeidallah | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere are also drones which vacuum the wireless spectrum, picking up tweets, emails, and Skype chats.
So Iran would have to eventually withdraw, leaving a power vacuum, again, in those areas.
Its first cost and expense in working to be much less than that of the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engine.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickThe Wheal Prosper 16-inch pole high-pressure expansive steam vacuum engine commenced its up-stroke with steam of 100 lbs.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickThe conversion of the other, a 63-inch low-pressure vacuum engine at Wheal Gons, will be traced in this chapter.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickThe steam pressure in the Newcomen atmospheric was continued unaltered in the Watt vacuum engine.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickA very thin vacuum shutter forms a better interrupter of sound waves than a brick wall two or three feet in thickness.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing Miller
British Dictionary definitions for vacuum
/ (ˈvækjʊəm) /
a region containing no matter; free space: Compare plenum (def. 3)
a region in which gas is present at a low pressure
the degree of exhaustion of gas within an enclosed space: a high vacuum; a perfect vacuum
a sense or feeling of emptiness: his death left a vacuum in her life
short for vacuum cleaner
(modifier) of, containing, measuring, producing, or operated by a low gas pressure: a vacuum tube; a vacuum brake
to clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner: to vacuum a carpet
Origin of vacuum
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for vacuum
The absence of matter.
Notes for vacuum
Notes for vacuum
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.
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