vacuum

Pluralvacuums

Formsvacuums, vacuuming, vacuumed

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   An empty space with nothing in it at all: no air and no other matter.

   Like a sealed box with all the air taken out, so nothing is left inside.

   Sound cannot travel through a vacuum because there is nothing to carry it.

   Outer space is very close to a perfect vacuum.

   Similarvoid, vacancy

   Oppositeplenum

   Note
2. 2
   nouncolloquialabbreviationellipsis

   Shortened form of vacuum cleaner. A casual, everyday way to name the machine that sucks up dirt.

   Can you grab the vacuum and clean the living room?

   The vacuum is in the closet next to the broom.

   Note
3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To clean a floor or surface using a machine that sucks up dirt.

   Like using a straw to suck up crumbs, but for a whole floor.

   I vacuum the carpet every weekend.

   Could you vacuum the stairs before the guests arrive?

   Similarhoover

   Note
4. 4
   verbintransitive

   To clean a room by running a machine that sucks up dirt.

   I vacuum every Saturday morning.

   Please vacuum before the visitors come.

   Similarhoover

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A sad, empty feeling left when you lose someone close or lose your job.

   Like the bare spot on a wall after a favorite picture is taken down.

   Her death left a vacuum in his daily life.

   Retirement created a vacuum that he filled with gardening.

   Similarvoid, gap, emptiness, hole, vacancy

   Note
6. 6
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A space inside a container where the air pressure is much lower than the air around us.

   Like sucking the air out of a plastic bag until it shrinks tight.

   The pump pulls a vacuum inside the sealed tank.

   A strong vacuum forms in the chamber when the air is removed.

   Note
7. 7
   nouncountable

   A belly exercise where you pull your stomach in toward your spine and hold it.

   Like sucking in your tummy to fit through a tight gap, then holding it there.

   She holds each vacuum for thirty seconds during her morning routine.

   Doing a vacuum every day can strengthen your core muscles.

   Note
8. 8
   nouncountable

   In physics, a model of empty spacetime that holds no matter and no energy.

   Like empty space far from any stars, where there is nothing but space itself.

   Even a vacuum can curve when a heavy object is nearby.

   Far from any star, spacetime behaves like a vacuum with no matter in it.

   Note
9. 9
   verbtransitive

   In computing, to clean up a database by removing data that was already marked for deletion.

   Like clearing out trash so a room has more space to use.

   Run a script to vacuum the table after the big delete.

   We vacuum the database to keep it running fast.

   Note

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