vac·u·um | \ ˈva-(ˌ)kyüm 
, -kyəm also -kyü-əm \
, -kyəm also -kyü-əm \ plural vacuums or vacua\ ˈva-kyə-wə \
\Definition of vacuum
(Entry 1 of 3)
1 : emptiness of space
2a : a space absolutely devoid of matter
b : a space partially exhausted (as to the highest degree possible) by artificial means (such as an air pump)
c : a degree of rarefaction below atmospheric pressure
3a : a state or condition resembling a vacuum : void the power vacuum in Indochina after the departure of the French— Norman Cousins
b : a state of isolation from outside influences
people who live in a vacuum … so that the world outside them is of no moment— W. S. Maugham
vacuum
verbvacuumed; vacuuming; vacuums
Definition of vacuum (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : to use a vacuum device (such as a vacuum cleaner) on
vacuum the living room
2 : to draw or take in by or as if by suction
: to operate a vacuum device
vacuum
adjectiveDefinition of vacuum (Entry 3 of 3)
1 : of, containing, producing, or utilizing a partial vacuum
separated by means of vacuum distillation
2 : of or relating to a vacuum device or system
Examples of vacuum in a Sentence
Noun
the vacuum of outer space
A pump was used to create a vacuum inside the bottle.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun With your vacuum’s upholstery attachment, go over the entire sofa: back, arms, skirt and cushions.
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Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "How to Properly Clean and Sanitize a Couch at Home (With or Without a Steam Cleaner)," 25 Jan. 2021 Simply run the handheld part of your vacuum over all the cushions and seams, then flip the cushions over to get the other side and the crumbs underneath.
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Amanda Sims Clifford, House Beautiful, "How to Clean a Couch, According to a Professional Upholsterer," 18 Dec. 2020 Dubbed as our all-time favorite affordable vacuum, the eufy 11S is currently on sale at Amazon for $169.99, which is down $80 from its retail price of $249.99.
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Tj Donegan, USA TODAY, "Cyber Monday 2020: The 20 best deals on Apple, Samsung, Coach, Hulu and Roku you can still get," 1 Dec. 2020 Download the Shark Clean smartphone app to control your new vacuum.
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Nicole Saunders, NBC News, "Walmart Cyber Monday deals 2020: Best sales on Dyson, grills and more," 30 Nov. 2020 Ditch your clunky vacuum for one of Dyson’s high-tech V7 or V10 models, currently up to $150 off for Cyber Monday.
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Talia Abbas, Glamour, "91 Best Cyber Monday Deals 2020 to Shop Now," 29 Nov. 2020 Learn more about the variety of attachments included with your Shark vacuum.
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Allen Foster, chicagotribune.com, "The best Shark vacuum of 2020," 1 Oct. 2020 Limit vacuuming unless your vacuum has a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.
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oregonlive, "5 things you can do right now to improve your indoor air quality," 14 Sep. 2020 Once the air has settled, finish up by vacuuming with your household vacuum.
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Joseph Truini And Merle Henkenius, Popular Mechanics, "How to Repair Drywall: Common Ways to Fix Damaged Walls," 18 Aug. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The malware infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously control the smartphone’s microphones and cameras, allowing hackers to spy on reporters’ face-to-face meetings with sources.
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Isabel Debre, The Christian Science Monitor, "Al-Jazeera reporters' phones hacked using Israeli firm's spyware," 21 Dec. 2020 The malware infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously control the smartphone’s microphones and cameras, allowing hackers to spy on reporters’ face-to-face meetings with sources.
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Bloomberg.com, "Report: Government Spyware Targets Phones of Al-Jazeera Reporters," 20 Dec. 2020 This is a great go-to vacuum for those of you who don’t necessarily need a mop or a camera.
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Carsen Joenk, Popular Science, "Best robot vacuum: Clean up without lifting a finger," 18 Dec. 2020 Planta had to engineer a precise system for laying out the dumplings, flash freezing, and vacuum sealing them: If there was too much moisture in the freezer bag, the wrappers would stick together.
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Larissa Zimberoff, Wired, "How Restaurants Retooled for Takeout—and Survival," 17 Dec. 2020 What Smart and his staff wanted was a physical force who’d vacuum up rebounds, set sturdy screens and erupt every now and then for a dunk that ignites the Longhorns and demoralizes the other team.
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Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Texas needs Jericho Sims to shake off early struggles," 8 Dec. 2020 Tap or click to see which ones vacuum up and sell the most of your personal information.
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Kim Komando, USA TODAY, "Parler news app downloads surge," 19 Nov. 2020 This may sound trite, but all of the members of my household HATE to vacuum with the heat of a thousand suns.
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Amy Dickinson, Star Tribune, "Ask Amy: Inheritance leads to tension and guilt," 30 Oct. 2020 The researchers were able to vacuum out 85 hornets from the nest, most of which were workers with only two queens being among those counted.
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Allen Kim, CNN, "That 'murder hornet' nest scientists found and destroyed had nearly 200 queens. They say they got there 'just in the nick of time'," 11 Nov. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vacuum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Last Updated
3 Feb 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Vacuum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vacuum. Accessed 11 Feb. 2021.
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More Definitions for vacuum
vacuum
noun English Language Learners Definition of vacuum
(Entry 1 of 2)
: an empty space in which there is no air or other gas : a space from which all or most of the air has been removed
: a situation created when an important person or thing has gone and has not been replaced
vacuum
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of vacuum (Entry 2 of 2)
: to clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner
See the full definition for vacuum in the English Language Learners Dictionary
vacuum
nounvac·u·um | \ ˈva-ˌkyüm \
\ plural vacuums or vacua\ -kyə-wə \
Kids Definition of vacuum
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a space completely empty of matter
2 : a space from which most of the air has been removed (as by a pump)
3 : vacuum cleaner
vacuum
verbvacuumed; vacuuming
Kids Definition of vacuum (Entry 2 of 2)
: to use a vacuum cleaner on
She's vacuuming the carpet.
vacuum
nounvac·u·um | \ ˈvak-(ˌ)yüm , -yu̇-əm , -yəm \
, -yu̇-əm , -yəm \ plural vacuums or vacua\ -yə-wə \
\Medical Definition of vacuum
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : emptiness of space
2a : a space absolutely devoid of matter
b : a space partially exhausted (as to the highest degree possible) by artificial means (as an air pump)
c : a degree of rarefaction below atmospheric pressure : negative pressure
vacuum
adjectiveMedical Definition of vacuum (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : of, containing, producing, or utilizing a partial vacuum
separated by means of vacuum distillation
2 : of or relating to a vacuum device or system
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Time Traveler for vacuum
The first known use of vacuum was in 1550
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