English Reference

Word

VAR

Phoneticsvar

Definitions

01football officiating

B2 · Sport

n. Stands for Video Assistant Referee. A system used in football to help the referee make better decisions by looking at video replays.

n. Abbreviation for Video Assistant Referee. A technical officiating system in association football that reviews decisions made by the head referee using video footage and a headset for communication.

“The goal was cancelled after the referee checked VAR and saw the player was offside.”

“The introduction of VAR has sparked significant debate among fans regarding the flow of the game and the subjective nature of 'clear and obvious' errors.”

Usage

Usually used without an article when referring to the system itself, but can take 'the' when referring to the official.

Synonyms

video replayvideo review

02programming variable

B2 · Computing

n. A short way to write 'variable' in computer code, used to store information that can change.

n. A common abbreviation for 'variable' in various programming languages, often used as a keyword to declare a storage location for data.

“You need to define the var at the top of your script so the program knows what it is.”

“Modern JavaScript standards often prefer 'let' or 'const' over 'var' to ensure better control over variable scoping within a function.”

Technical

Usage

In code, it is written in lowercase; in speech, it is often pronounced like the word 'bar'.

Synonyms

Antonyms

03financial risk

C1 · Law

n. Stands for Value at Risk. A way for banks and companies to measure how much money they might lose in a certain amount of time.

n. Abbreviation for Value at Risk. A statistical technique used to measure and quantify the level of financial risk within a firm or investment portfolio over a specific time frame.

“The bank's daily VAR showed that they could lose up to ten million dollars in a worst-case scenario.”

“Risk managers often criticize a heavy reliance on VAR because it can fail to predict 'black swan' events that fall outside normal statistical distributions.”

Technical

Usage

Often written as 'VaR' to distinguish it from other acronyms.

Synonyms

risk metric

04business reseller

C1

n. Stands for Value-Added Reseller. A company that buys a product, adds new features or services to it, and then sells it to customers.

n. Abbreviation for Value-Added Reseller. A firm that enhances the value of third-party products by adding customized services or software before reselling them to end-users.

“We bought our office software from a local VAR who also handles all our technical support.”

“The hardware manufacturer relies on a global network of VARs to provide localized installation and maintenance services to their corporate clients.”

Technical

05steroid slang

C2 · Medicine

n. A slang name for a specific type of steroid used by some athletes to build muscle.

n. A common clipping of Anavar, a brand name for the synthetic anabolic steroid oxandrolone.

“He was caught using var to improve his performance before the competition.”

“In bodybuilding subcultures, var is often discussed as a milder alternative to other performance-enhancing drugs, despite its significant legal and health risks.”

Slang

Synonyms

Real-World Examples

“Athletic players appealed for a red card after a challenge by the Barcelona forward on ⁠Laporte, but the referee and VAR took no further action.”
Al Jazeera · 27 Aug 2026
“Those with the benefit of replays – there was no VAR in operation in Wroclaw – felt one of them was offside.”
BBC News · 15 Aug 2026

Domains

FinancePhysicsProgrammingStatistics

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

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