vacuum
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a space that is completely empty and contains no air or matter.
n.a region of space that contains no matter; in practical terms, a volume from which most air has been removed.
Simple“Sound cannot travel through a vacuum because there is no air to carry the vibrations.”
In context“The experiment was conducted within a high-grade vacuum to ensure that atmospheric particles did not interfere with the sensitive laser measurements.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.a machine that cleans floors by sucking up dust and dirt.
n.a household appliance used for removing debris from floors and upholstery via suction.
Simple“I need to empty the vacuum because it is full of pet hair.”
In context“The new cordless vacuum features a high-efficiency filter designed to capture even the smallest allergens from the carpet fibers.”
Synonymsvacuum cleanerhoover - 03 C1 Advanced
n.a feeling of emptiness in your life after losing someone or something important.
n.a metaphorical state of emptiness or isolation resulting from a significant loss or absence.
Simple“The retirement of the CEO left a vacuum in the company's leadership.”
In context“After her partner passed away, she struggled to fill the emotional vacuum that had suddenly opened in her daily life.”
- 04 B1 Intermediate
v.to clean a floor or carpet using a vacuum cleaner.
v.to use a vacuum cleaner to remove dirt from a surface; functions both transitively and intransitively.
Simple“Could you vacuum the living room before the guests arrive?”
In context“He spent the entire Saturday morning vacuuming the upstairs bedrooms and polishing the wooden floors in the hallway.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
v.to clean up a computer database by removing old or deleted information.
v.to optimize a database by physically removing deleted records and reclaiming storage space.
Simple“The system administrator scheduled the database to vacuum every night at midnight.”
In context“Regularly vacuuming the tables is essential for maintaining query performance in high-traffic PostgreSQL environments.”
“Most of these violent characters meet violent ends, but nature abhors a vacuum, so it isn’t long before new shady figures take the reins.”
“But the contraption looks like spare parts for a vacuum cleaner and apparently helps only the conductor.”
Borrowed from New Latin vacuum (“vacuum”), a subsense of Classical Latin vacuum (“empty space”), a substantivised form of vacuus (“empty”); related to vacāre (“to be empty”). The exercise sense comes from analogy to the sucking action of a vacuum cleaner.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.