1525
V-E Day
especially continually: The weather varied from very cold to
quite mild. | The security van that brings our wages always
varies its route. → see also VARIED
vas·cu·lar /'væskjʊlə/ adj tech of or containing tubes
through which liquids move in the bodies of animals or
plants: a vascular system
vase /vɑːz|veɪs, veɪz/ n a decorative container, usually
shaped like a deep pot with a rather narrow opening at the
top and usually made of glass or baked clay, used for
decoration or to put flowers in
va·sec·to·my /və'sektəmi/ n [C;U] the medical operation of
cutting the small tube that carries the male seeds (SPERM),
done so that a man is unable to produce children
Vas·e·line /'væsliːn/ trademark a type of PETROLEUM JELLY (=a
thick, pale yellow greasy substance) used especially on sore
dry skin
vas·sal /'væsəl/ n (during the Middle Ages) a person who
promised to be loyal to a lord and to serve him or fight for
him and who in return was given land by the lord
Vas·sar Col·lege /ˌvæsə 'kɒlɪdʒ|əl-sər 'kɑː-/ also Vassar a
college in the state of New York, US. It was established in
1861 as a college for women, but it has accepted male
students since the late 1960s.
vast /vɑːst|væst/ adj very large and wide; great in amount or
especially in area: The vast plains stretch for hundreds of
miles. | The actors were brought from New York to London at
vast expense. —ness n [U]
vast·ly /'vɑːstli|'væstli/ adv very greatly: This is vastly supe-
rior to his previous film. | a vastly overrated actress
vast·ness·es /'vɑːstnəs|əl'væst-/ n [P] especially lit a great
empty area: the vastnesses of space
vat /væt/ n a very large barrel or other container for holding
liquids, such as WHISKY, DYE etc, especially when they are
being made
VAT /ˌviː eɪ 'tiː, væt/ n [U] abbrev. for value-added tax; a tax
added to the price of goods and services in Britain and the
EU
Vat·i·can, the /'vætɪkən/ 1 the large palace in which the
Pope (=head of the Roman Catholic Church) lives, in Rome:
At last, white smoke could be seen coming from the Vatican
chimney. 2 the government or office of the Pope: The
Vatican is taking a hard line on birth control.
Vatican 'City, the the independent state within Italy in the
city of Rome which contains the Vatican. It has buildings
which contain many of the greatest works of art in the world.
Population: 1,000 (1995). → see also SAINT PETER'S, SISTINE
CHAPEL, THE
Vatican 'Council, the either of two important series of
meetings in the Roman Catholic Church, in which leading
members of the church discussed questions of belief and
practice. The First Vatican Council (1869-70) developed the
idea that the Pope was INFALLIBLE (=always right when
talking about matters of belief). The Second Vatican Council
(1962-65) discussed the relationship of the church with the
modern world, and one of its results was that church
services began to use modern languages instead of Latin.
vau·de·ville /'vɔːdəvl, 'vɑʊ-/ n [U] AmE theatre, entertain-
ment with songs, jokes, acts of skill etc. Vaudeville shows
were popular from the late 1800s until the 1950s. Many
famous COMEDIANS (=people who tell jokes) and actors began
in vaudeville. → compare VARIETY
Vaughan, Frankie /'vɔːn, 'fræŋki/ (1928-99) a British singer
known especially for the song Give Me The Moonlight, which
he always sang wearing a STRAW BOATER and carrying a
CANE, while kicking his leg high into the air
Vaughan 'Williams, Ralph /reɪf/ (1872-1958) a British
COMPOSER who collected English FOLK MUSIC and used it in
his work. He is best known for his Fantasia on a Theme by
Thomas Tallis, his VIOLIN music The Lark Ascending, and his
symphonies (SYMPHONY).
vault¹ /vɔːlt/ n 1 also vaults
pl. — a room with thick walls
and a heavy door to protect
it against fire and thieves, in
which money, jewels,
important papers etc, are
kept at a bank 2 also vaults
pl. — an underground
room a) beneath the floor
of a church, in which the
bodies of the dead are
placed b) in which things
are stored to keep them at
the same cool temperature:
a wine vault 3 a roof or CEIL-
ING made out of a number of
arches, as in many churches
vault² v [I+adv/prep;T] to jump
over (something) in one movement using the hands or a
pole to gain more height: The thief vaulted (over) the wall
and ran away. —er n
vault³ n a jump made by vaulting → see also POLE VAULT
vault·ed /'vɔːltɪd/ adj 1 in the form of a VAULT: a vaulted
roof 2 covered with a curved roof: a vaulted passage
vault·ing¹ /'vɔːltɪŋ/ n [U] arches in a roof
vaulting² adj [A] lit reaching or aiming for the highest point:
His vaulting ambition eventually caused his downfall.
'vaulting horse also horse n a wooden apparatus which
people can jump over for exercise
vaunt¹ /vɔːnt/ v [T] especially lit to praise (something) too much;
BOAST about
vaunt² n lit an example of vaunting; BOAST
vaunt·ed /'vɔːntɪd/ adj fml derog praised or talked about too
much in a way that is too proud: their much vaunted new
software
Vaux·hall /'vɒksɔːl|'vɔːk-/ trademark a company that makes
cars, with factories in the UK and other European countries.
It is part of General Motors.
VC /ˌviː 'siː/ n 1 abbrev. for Victoria Cross; a special MEDAL given
to members of the British armed forces who have performed
acts of very great bravery in war. The VC is regarded as the
highest British military honour. 2 abbrev. for AmE infml VIET
CONG
V-chip /'viː tʃɪp/ n an electronic CHIP in a television that
allows parents to prevent their children from watching
programmes that are violent or have sex in them
vCJD /ˌviː siː dʒeɪ 'diː/ n [U] medical abbrev. for new variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease; a human form of the serious brain
disease BSE
VCR /ˌviː siː 'ɑː/ n especially AmE abbrev. for video cassette
recorder; a machine which is used to record television pro-
grammes or to play VIDEOTAPES; VIDEO
VD /ˌviː 'diː/ n [U] abbrev. for venereal disease; a disease that is
passed from one person to another during sex
VDU /ˌviː diː 'juː/ n [C] abbrev. for visual display unit; a machine
like a television that shows the information from a computer
or WORD PROCESSOR
-'ve /v, əv/ short for have: We've finished. | If you've time, come
and see me.
veal /viːl/ n tech [U] meat from a CALF (=the young of a cow) →
see MEAT (USAGE)
vec·tor /'vektə/ n tech 1 (in science) a quantity which has
direction as well as size and which can be represented by an
ARROW the length of which has a direct relationship with
the size → compare SCALAR 2 an insect, such as a fly or
MOSQUITO, which can carry a disease from one living thing to
another 3 the course of an aircraft
Ve·da, the /'veɪdə/ also the Vedas n [P] four holy books
which are the oldest writings of the Hindu religion, and
which contain HYMNS, prayers etc → see also RIG VEDA,
UPANISHADS
Ve·dan·ta /və'dɑːntə, -'dæn-/ n the system of Hindu
thought about religion
V-E Day /ˌviː 'i ˌdeɪ/ abbrev. for Victory in Europe Day; May
8th 1945, the day on which victory in Europe in World War
II was celebrated