What does "vacuum" mean?
A region of space that contains no matter.
Vacuum
/ˈvæ.kjuːm/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A region of space that contains no matter.
- Grammar: vacuum is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: emptiness, vacuum cleaner, void, absence.
- Useful contrasts: atmospheric conditions, atmospheric pressure, content word.
- Usage evidence: Corporations are competing to fill the vacuum.
How to use "vacuum"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "vacuum" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "vacuum" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "vacuum" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "vacuum" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "vacuum" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "emptiness" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "vacuum", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A region of space that contains no matter.
"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 an electrical home appliance that cleans by suction wordnet
- 3 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"
- 4 a region that is devoid of matter wordnet
- 5 Ellipsis of vacuum cleaner. abbreviation, alt-of, colloquial, ellipsis
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 an empty area or space wordnet
- 7 A spacetime having tensors of zero magnitude.
- 8 the absence of matter wordnet
- 9 A ground state of a quantum field or of local spacetime, or more abstractly the lowest-energy state of a system.
- 10 A ground state of a quantum field or of local spacetime, or more abstractly the lowest-energy state of a system.; A description of spacetime resulting from a particular compactification of spatial dimensions.
- 11 An emptiness in life created by a loss of a person who was close, or of an occupation.
"Henrietta soon found a terrible vacuum left, by the letters in which she used to pour forth every feeling and thought to her uncle."
- 12 An exercise in which one draws their abdomen towards the spine.
"Abs show up in a most-muscular shot, a vacuum shot, the hands-behind-head compulsory ab shot, twisting poses, and so on."
Verb
- 1 To clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner. transitive
"“Who in the world cleans an attic? That's like vacuuming a shed.”"
- 2 clean with a vacuum cleaner wordnet
- 3 To use a vacuum cleaner. intransitive
- 4 To optimise a database or database table by physically removing deleted tuples. transitive
"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."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
atmospheric conditionsatmospheric pressurecontent worddutch aarde
Example
"Corporations are competing to fill the vacuum."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "vacuum"?
Common synonyms include: emptiness, vacuum cleaner, void, absence, absence of mind, absorb.
How do you use "vacuum" in a sentence?
Corporations are competing to fill the vacuum.
How do you pronounce "vacuum"?
Pronounced /ˈvæ.kjuːm/.
Etymology
Borrowed from New Latin vacuum (“vacuum”), a subsense of Classical Latin vacuum (“empty space”), a substantivised form of vacuus (“empty”); related to vacāre (“to be empty”). The exercise sense comes from analogy to the sucking action of a vacuum cleaner.