vapour

[ vey-per ]

/ ˈveɪ pər /

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noun, verb (used with or without object) Chiefly British.

vapor.

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usage note for vapour

See -or¹.

Words nearby vapour

vapor pressure, vapor tension, vapor trail, vaporware, vapory, vapour, vapour density, vapourer moth, vapour lock, vapour pressure, vapour trail

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vapour in a sentence

However, in the model the polar regions of Arrakis have significantly more atmospheric moisture and high cloud cover which acts to warm the climate since water vapour is a greenhouse gas.
Could humans survive on Dune’s Arrakis?|Farnsworth et al./The Conversation|October 26, 2021|Popular-Science
Cooling of the atmosphere can also occur, as clouds formed from the emitted water vapour reflect incoming sunlight back to space.
The cost of the billionaire space race will be paid in carbon emissions|Purbita Saha|July 21, 2021|Popular-Science
She saw his back for an instant against the pale gloom of the garden, in which vapour was curling.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
This shows what a considerable power is lost by cold sides where the vapour is so rare.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

As they move in toward the sun long trails of vapour stream back from the somewhat consolidated head.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
At other times spouts of green or black vapour rise, mix and lose themselves in the yellow cloud.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The sphere is so near to the sun that if it were possessed of water it would inevitably bear an atmosphere full of vapour.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for vapour

vapour

US vapor

/ (ˈveɪpə) /

noun

particles of moisture or other substance suspended in air and visible as clouds, smoke, etc

a gaseous substance at a temperature below its critical temperatureCompare gas (def. 3)

a substance that is in a gaseous state at a temperature below its boiling point

rare something fanciful that lacks substance or permanence

the vapours archaic a depressed mental condition believed originally to be the result of vaporous exhalations from the stomach

verb

to evaporate or cause to evaporate; vaporize

(intr) to make vain empty boasts; brag

Derived forms of vapour

vapourable or US vaporable, adjectivevapourability or US vaporability, nounvapourer or US vaporer, nounvapourish or US vaporish, adjective

vapourless or US vaporless, adjectivevapour-like or US vapor-like, adjectivevapoury or US vapory, adjective

Word Origin for vapour

C14: from Latin vapor

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