vacuum
Listen:Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
vacuum /ˈvakjʊəm/
▶noun (pl. vacuums or vacua /-jʊə/)
- 1 a space entirely devoid of matter.
■ a space or container from which the air has been completely or partly removed.
- 2 a gap left by the loss or departure of someone or something important.
- 3 (pl. vacuums) a vacuum cleaner.
– phrases
in a vacuum in isolation from the normal context.
in a vacuum in isolation from the normal context.
– origin C16: mod. L., neut. of L. vacuus ‘empty’.
'vacuum' also found in these Oxford entries:
c
- cathode ray
- cathode ray tube
- cup
- dewar
- flask
- freeze-dry
- getter
- Hoover
- horror vacui
- in vacuo
- refractive index
- slipstream
- sous vide
- space
- suck
- suction
- thermionic valve
- Thermos
- torr
- Torricellian vacuum
- vac
- vacua
- vacuum brake
- vacuum cleaner
- vacuum flask
- vacuum gauge
- vacuum-pack
- vacuum tube
