What does "vat" mean?
A large tub, such as is used for making wine or for tanning.
Vat
/væt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large tub, such as is used for making wine or for tanning.
- Grammar: vat is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: archives, armory, arsenal, attic.
- Useful contrasts: direct tax.
- Usage evidence: The VAT in Germany is 19 per cent.
How to use "vat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "vat" 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 "vat" 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 "vat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "vat" 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 "vat" is acting as adj, noun, verb 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 "archives" 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 "vat", 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 large tub, such as is used for making wine or for tanning.
"a vat of liquid"
- 2 Initialism of value added tax. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
"And neither party is up for imposing a VAT in place of the current income tax system."
- 3 a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids wordnet
- 4 A square, hollow place on the back of a calcining furnace, where tin ore is laid to dry.
- 5 Initialism of vigilance awareness training. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 a tax based on the value of the goods collected by the end retailer wordnet
- 7 A vessel for holding holy water.
- 8 A liquid measure and dry measure; especially, a liquid measure in Belgium and Holland, corresponding to the hectolitre of the metric system, which contains 22.01 imperial gallons, or 26.4 standard gallons in the United States. dated
Verb
- 1 To put into a vat. transitive
- 2 To blend (wines or spirits) in a vat; figuratively, to mix or blend elements as if with wines or spirits. transitive
"He was thinking of the grape arbor in Kingston, of summer twilight and the murmur of voices darkening into silence as he approached, who meant them, her, no harm; who meant her less than harm, good God; darkening into the pale whisper of her white dress, of the delicate and urgent mammalian whisper of that curious small flesh which he had not begot and in which appeared to be vatted delicately some seething sympathy with the blossoming grape."
Adjective
- 1 Designating a vat dye. not-comparable
"vat red"
Antonyms
direct tax
Example
"The VAT in Germany is 19 per cent."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "vat"?
Common synonyms include: archives, armory, arsenal, attic, bank, basement.
How do you use "vat" in a sentence?
The VAT in Germany is 19 per cent.
How do you pronounce "vat"?
Pronounced /væt/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English vat, a dialectal variant of fat (“vat, vessel, cask”), from Old English fæt (“vat, vessel”), from Proto-West Germanic *fat, from Proto-Germanic *fatą (“vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *pod- (“vessel”). Cognate with Scots fat, vat, vautt (“vat, cask, tub”), West Frisian fet, Dutch vat (“barrel, cask, vessel, vat”), German Fass (“barrel, keg, drum, cask, vat”), Danish fad (“saucer, dish”), Swedish fat (“dish, barrel, cask, vat”), Icelandic fat (“dish, saucer”). See fat.