vacuums

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of vacuum.

   Modern vacuums use cyclonic filters to trap fine dust.

   The vast vacuums between the planets contain almost no matter at all.

   Note

   One plural stretches across very different nouns: household machines, empty regions of space, spacetimes in relativity, and even an abdominal exercise in the gym. For the appliance, the word is a colloquial clipping of vacuum cleaner, so careful formal writing may prefer the full phrase. Context alone tells the reader whether vacuums are being plugged in or measured between the planets.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of vacuum.

   The cleaning crew vacuums every office floor after the staff leave for the night.

   Whenever the cat sheds, my roommate vacuums the entire apartment twice.

   Note

   The verb form serves the cleaning chore with or without an object: someone vacuums the stairs, or simply vacuums on Saturdays. It also carries a database administrator's meaning, in which a system vacuums a table by physically removing deleted tuples. The same spelling is also the plural noun, so the vacuums names machines, while she vacuums names the chore.

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