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• vat
  vat

  noun

  a large container, as a tub or tank, used for storing or holding liquids.
• VAT
  VAT

  noun

  value-added tax.
• Vat.
  Vat.

  abbreviation

  Vatican.

vat

¹ American  

[vat] / væt /

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.

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verb (used with object)

vatted, vatting

1. to put into or treat in a vat.

VAT ² American  

noun

1. value-added tax.

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Vat. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Vatican.

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vat ¹ British  

/ væt /

noun

1. a large container for holding or storing liquids

2. chem a preparation of reduced vat dye

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verb

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

Vat. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Vatican

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VAT ³ British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unvatted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of vat

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

Explanation

A vat is a big container for holding liquids. If you're having a big party, your mom may get you to help cook a vat of spaghetti sauce to feed all your hungry relatives. Remember that vat has a short a sound; it rhymes with cat, hat, and sat. Vats are not always food-related. People who make pottery, for example, keep vats of glazes in which they dip their vases and cups in order to color them. No matter what a vat contains, it's often heavy and hard to move.

Example Sentences

Behind the glass of a sterile room, two employees in full protective suits could be seen extracting an insulin component from a large vat to send a test sample to a customer.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

The justices don’t care what you’re doing out there on the plaza; they are just brains in a vat.

From Slate • Mar. 4, 2026

Since then, Zhan's body has been stored in a 2,000-litre container at the institute in a vat of -190C liquid nitrogen.

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2025

The real-estate investor took off her shoes, sanitized her feet and waded into a giant vat filled to the brim with juicy grapes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

"And a vat of gravy," Fredo cracked, but Simeon didn't laugh.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds