Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Vacuum
Vac′u-um
(văk′ū̍-ŭm)
, Noun.
pl. E.
Vacuums
(văk′ū̍-ŭmz)
, L. Vacua
(văk′ū̍-ȧ)
. [L., fr.
vacuus
empty. See Vacuous
.] 1.
(Physics)
A space entirely devoid of matter (called also, by way of distinction, absolute vacuum); hence, in a more general sense, a space, as the interior of a closed vessel, which has been exhausted to a high or the highest degree by an air pump or other artificial means;
as, water boils at a reduced temperature in a
. vacuum
2.
The condition of rarefaction, or reduction of pressure below that of the atmosphere, in a vessel, as the condenser of a steam engine, which is nearly exhausted of air or steam, etc.;
as, a
. vacuum
of 26 inches of mercury, or 13 pounds per square inchVacuum brake
, a kind of continuous brake operated by exhausting the air from some appliance under each car, and so causing the pressure of the atmosphere to apply the brakes.
– Vacuum pan
(Technol.)
, a kind of large closed metallic retort used in sugar making for boiling down sirup. It is so connected with an exhausting apparatus that a partial vacuum is formed within. This allows the evaporation and concentration to take place at a lower atmospheric pressure and hence also at a lower temperature, which largely obviates the danger of burning the sugar, and shortens the process.
– Vacuum pump
. Same as
– Pulsometer
, 1. Vacuum tube
(Phys.)
, (a)
a glass tube provided with platinum electrodes and exhausted, for the passage of the electrical discharge; a Geissler tube.
(a)
any tube used in electronic devices, containing a vacuum and used to control the flow of electrons in a circuit, as a vacuum diode, triode, tetrode, or pentode.
– Vacuum valve
, a safety valve opening inward to admit air to a vessel in which the pressure is less than that of the atmosphere, in order to prevent collapse.
– Torricellian vacuum
. See under
Torricellian
.Webster 1828 Edition
Vacuum
VAC'UUM
,Noun.
Torricellian vacuum, the vacuum produced by filling a tube with mercury, and allowing it to descend till it is counterbalanced by the weight of the atmosphere, as in the barometer invented by Torricelli.
Definition 2024
vacuüm
vacuüm
See also: vacuum
English
Noun
vacuüm (plural vacua)
- (rare, chiefly Netherlands) Alternative spelling of vacuum
- 1996, T. A. M. Schoenmakers, Het Amerikaanse Neoconservatisme, 1968–1988, page 14
- Franklin Roosevelt was showing that democracy was capable of taking care of its own; the New Deal was filling the vacuüm of faith which we had inherited from the cynicism and complacency of the twenties, and from the breadlines of the early thirtees.
- 1996, T. A. M. Schoenmakers, Het Amerikaanse Neoconservatisme, 1968–1988, page 14
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:vacuüm.
Translations
vacuum — see vacuum
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈvaː.ky.ʏm/
- Hyphenation: va‧cu‧um
Etymology
From Latin vacuum, the substantivated neutrum of the adjective vacuus (“empty”).
Noun
vacuüm n (plural vacuüms or vacua, diminutive vacuümpje n)
- A vacuum
- (figuratively) emptiness, meaninglessness
Derived terms
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Adjective
vacuüm (not comparable)
- In or constituting a vacuum.
- (figuratively) empty, meaningless
- 2007, Dimitri Verhulst, De helaasheid der dingen, Uitgeverij Contact, Amsterdam/Antwerpen, ISBN 978 90 254 2773 3, p. 192
- Er werden handen geschud en vacuüm getrokken zinnen gewisseld, en de vrienden van het volk verlieten het bejaardentehuis, op naar hun volgende opdracht, de cameraregistratie van een volksdans misschien.
- Hands were shaken and phrases with empty meaning were exchanged, and the people’s friends left the rest home, on to their next mission, maybe the photographic documentation of a folk dance.
- Er werden handen geschud en vacuüm getrokken zinnen gewisseld, en de vrienden van het volk verlieten het bejaardentehuis, op naar hun volgende opdracht, de cameraregistratie van een volksdans misschien.
- 2007, Dimitri Verhulst, De helaasheid der dingen, Uitgeverij Contact, Amsterdam/Antwerpen, ISBN 978 90 254 2773 3, p. 192
Inflection
| Inflection of vacuüm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | vacuüm | |||
| inflected | vacuüm | |||
| comparative | — | |||
| positive | ||||
| predicative/adverbial | vacuüm | |||
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | vacuüm | ||
| n. sing. | vacuüm | |||
| plural | vacuüm | |||
| definite | vacuüm | |||
| partitive | — | |||