vacuum

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See also: vacuüm

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin vacuum (“an empty space, void”), noun use of neuter of vacuus (“empty”), related to vacare (“be empty”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈvæ.kjuːm/, /ˈvæ.kjuː.əm/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

vacuum (plural vacuums or (rare, formal) vacua)

  1. A region of space that contains no matter.
    Synonyms: vacancy, void
    Antonym: plenum
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel Station: Wards Codex entry:
      The Wards are open-topped, with skyscrapers rising from the superstructure. Towers are sealed against vacuum, as the breathable atmosphere envelope is only maintained to a height of about seven meters. The atmosphere is contained by the centrifugal force of rotation and a "membrane" of dense, colorless sulphur hexafluoride gas, held in place by carefully managed mass effect fields.
  2. The condition of rarefaction, or reduction of pressure below that of the atmosphere, in a vessel, such as the condenser of a steam engine, which is nearly exhausted of air or steam, etc.
    a vacuum of 26 inches of mercury, or 13 pounds per square inch
  3. (colloquial, only pluralized as "vacuums") Ellipsis of vacuum cleaner.
    Synonym: (British) hoover
  4. (physics) A spacetime having tensors of zero magnitude.
  5. An emptiness in life created by a loss of a person who was close, or of an occupation.
  6. An exercise in which one draws their abdomen towards the spine.
    • 1985, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 508:
      Abs show up in a most-muscular shot, a vacuum shot, the hands-behind-head compulsory ab shot, twisting poses, and so on.
    • 1997 January 6, John, “I'm 14; How do I start bodybuilding?”, in misc.fitness.weights‎[1] (Usenet):
      Right I'm off to practice my vacuum - suck in those stomachs now!
    • 2010 January 7, Silent Stone, “Want to start, have a few questions for now.”, in misc.fitness.weights‎[2] (Usenet):
      When I do the 'gut vacuum' exercise the abdominal wall seems to return to normal size, as far as I can tell under the flab.
    • 2022 October 10, Aaromal Maanas, “2022 Tsunami Nutrition Pro Results and Recap”, in Sportskeeda‎[3], archived from the original on 2022-10-23:
      Blessed with round muscle bellies and a phenomenal structure, he also performed a vacuum pose on stage.

Usage notes

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  • The Latin in vacuo is sometimes used instead of in a vacuum (in free space).

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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vacuum (third-person singular simple present vacuums, present participle vacuuming, simple past and past participle vacuumed)

  1. (transitive) To clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner.
    Synonym: (British) hoover
    • 2016, Janice M. Whiteaker, Run:
      “Who in the world cleans an attic? That's like vacuuming a shed.”
  2. (intransitive) To use a vacuum cleaner.
    Synonyms: (British) to do the hoovering, (British) to hoover
  3. (transitive, databases) To optimise a database or database table by physically removing deleted tuples.
    • 2010, Ivan Litovski, Richard Maynard, Inside Symbian SQL: A Mobile Developer's Guide to SQLite, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 337:
      But the advantage of an auto-vacuumed database is that when B-tree pages are no longer needed, they are moved to the end of the database file and then the database file is truncated, thus returning the unused pages back to the filesystem.

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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vacuum m (plural vacuums)

  1. vacuum (space containing no matter)
    Synonym: vide

Descendants

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  • Turkish: vakum

Further reading

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Latin

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Adjective

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vacuum

  1. accusative neuter singular of vacuus

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin vacuum.

Noun

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vacuum n (plural vacuumuri)

  1. vacuum

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative vacuum vacuumul vacuumuri vacuumurile
genitive-dative vacuum vacuumului vacuumuri vacuumurilor
vocative vacuumule vacuumurilor

Spanish

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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vacuum m (plural vacuums)

  1. vacuum
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