vacuum — ODE · Shobdo

vacuum /ˈvakjuːm

▸ noun

(plural vacuums)

(plural or vacua /ˈvakjʊə

1 a space entirely devoid of matter.

▪ a space or container from which the air has been completely or partly removed.

▪ [usually in singular] a gap left by the loss, death, or departure of someone or something significant:

the political vacuum left by the death of the Emperor.

(plural vacuums)

a vacuum cleaner.

▪ an act of cleaning a floor with a vacuum cleaner:

you probably give your floors a vacuum and your surfaces a wipe down every week.

▸ verb [with object] clean with a vacuum cleaner:

the room needs to be vacuumed.

– PHRASES

in a vacuum (of an activity or a problem to be considered) isolated from the normal context in which it can best be understood or assessed:

professional training cannot take place in a vacuum.

– ORIGIN mid 16th century: modern Latin, neuter of Latin vacuus ‘empty’.