Plural only for types and instances.. Plural only for types and instances.. Plural only for types and instances.. Plural only for types and instances.. Plural only for types and instance
Trang 1vacancy ["ve k@n si] 1 n a job or
position that is not filled; an
open-ing in employment; a job openopen-ing
2 n an empty room or building
that is available for rent
vacant ["ve k@nt] 1 adj not
occu-pied; not being used; empty; not
filled 2 adj [of a look on
some-one’s face] blank, showing no
thought or intelligence
(Figura-tive on Q Adv: vacantly.)
vacation [ve "ke S@n] n time when
one does not have to work or go to
school (Plural only for types and
instances.)
→ on vacation
→ take a vacation
vaccination [vAk s@ "ne S@n] n the
use of a vaccine to protect people
against disease (Plural only for
types and instances.)
vaccine [vAk "sin] n a substance
that is given to people in order to
protect them from a certain
dis-ease
vacuum ["vAk jum] 1 n a space
that is completely empty and does
not have any air in it 2 n a
machine used to suck up dirt from
carpets and other floor coverings
(Short for vacuum cleaner.) 3 adj.
creating or causing Q 4 tv to
clean a surface by sucking up dirt
with W 5 iv to clean by sucking
up dirt with W
vacuum cleaner ["vAk jum klin #]
n a machine that cleans carpets or
other materials by creating a
par-tial vacuumQ that sucks up dirt
(Can be shortened to vacuum.)
vacuum something up (from something) to clean something up
from something with a vacuum cleaner
vague ["veg] 1 adj not precise; not
exact (Adv: vaguely Comp:
vaguer; sup: vaguest.) 2 adj
hav-ing no expression on one’s face
(Figurative on Q Adv: vaguely Comp: vaguer; sup: vaguest.)
vain ["ven] adj having too much
pride about how one looks or about what one has done (Adv:
vainly Comp: vainer; sup: vainest.)
→ in vain
valiant ["vAl j@nt] adj very brave;
very courageous; heroic (Adv:
valiantly.)
valid ["vAl Id] 1 adj effective;
legally usable or acceptable (Adv:
validly.) 2 adj true; able to be
defended or proved; based on
facts (Adv: validly.)
valley ["vAl i] n a low area of land
between two high areas of land; a low area of land that is drained by
a large river and the smaller rivers that flow into the larger river
valor ["vAl #] n courage (No
plu-ral.)
valuable ["vAl j@ b@l] 1 adj worth
a lot of money; having a great
value (Adv: valuably.) 2 adj.
helpful; useful; important (Adv:
valuably.)
valuables n items that are valuable
Q (No singular.)
value ["vAl ju] 1 n the amount of
money that something is worth
(No plural.) 2 n something that
676
V
Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Trang 2is actually worth more than the
amount one paid for it; a bargain
3 n something of great use;
bene-fit (No plural.) 4 n an amount
that is represented by a sign or
symbol 5 tv to believe that
some-thing is worth a certain amount of
money 6 tv to think someone or
something is valuable; to regard
someone or something as useful or
worthy; to regard someone or
something highly
→ take someone or somethingat face
value
valve ["vAlv] n a flap or other
device in a tube that controls the
amount of something that passes
through the tube
van ["vAn] n a covered motor
vehi-cle that has a large amount of
space behind the driver’s seat for
carrying large objects or extra
people
vandal ["vAn d@l] n someone who
damages other people’s property
or public property on purpose
vandalism ["vAn d@ lIz @m] n the
damaging of other people’s
prop-erty or public propprop-erty on
pur-pose (No plural form in this
sense.)
vandalize ["vAn d@ laIz] tv to
damage other people’s property or
public property on purpose
vanilla [v@ "nIl @] 1 n a flavoring
made from the bean of a certain
tropical plant (No plural.) 2 adj.
flavored with Q; tasting like Q
vanish ["vAn IS] iv to disappear; to
be seen no longer
vanish into thin air to disappear
without leaving a trace
vanity ["vAn @ ti] 1 n the
condi-tion of being vain; the condicondi-tion of having too much pride about how one looks or what one has done (No plural.) 2 n a flat surface on top of a cabinet with drawers, especially such a unit in a bath-room, with a sink included in the top surface
vapor ["ve p#] n a liquid or solid in
the form of a gas
variant ["vEr i @nt] 1 adj different;
having a particular difference as compared with something stan-dard or the norm 2 n a different form of something, especially a different way of spelling a word
variation [vEr i "e S@n] n (minor)
differences; a minor difference (Plural only for types and instances.)
variety [v@ "raI @ ti] n differences
of choice; diversity (Plural only for types and instances.)
various ["vEr i @s] adj different;
several; having several kinds of something; having many kinds of
something (Adv: variously.)
varnish ["var nIS] 1 n a clear
liq-uid that is painted onto the surface
of objects made from wood to protect the wood and give it a hard, shiny appearance (Plural only for types and instances.)
2 tv to paint a surface with Q vary ["vEr i] 1 iv to change; to be
different; to appear or be used in
different forms 2 tv to change
something; to cause something to
be different; to make something different
vary
677
Trang 3vase ["ves] n a decorative
con-tainer, often used for holding
flowers
vast ["vAst] adj very large in size
or amount; of an immense size or
amount (Adv: vastly Comp:
vaster; sup: vastest.)
vat ["vAt] n a large container, used
for storing liquid, especially liquor
while it is being made
vault ["vOlt] 1 n a secure, locked
room where valuable things are
kept and protected 2 n a leap; a
jump made with the help of a pole
or one’s hands 3 tv to jump a
certain distance
veal ["vil] n the meat of a young
cow used as food (No plural.)
vegetable ["vEdZ t@ b@l] 1 n a
plant that is eaten as food; a part
of a plant that is eaten as food
2 adj made with or including Q.
vegetarian [vEdZ I "tEr i @n] 1 n.
someone who does not eat the
flesh of animals 2 adj [of food]
made without the flesh of a
once-living creature 3 adj serving or
eating food other than animal
tis-sue
vegetation [vEdZ I "te S@n] n plant
life; plants in general (No plural
Treated as singular.)
vehicle ["vi I k@l] n a machine that
is used to carry people or things,
especially on roads, including cars,
buses, trucks, vans, motorcycles,
bicycles, sleds, sleighs, and
car-riages (But not trains or
air-planes.)
vehicular [vI "hIk j@ l#] adj of or
about vehicles (Adv: vehicularly.)
veil ["vel] n a piece of cloth used to
hide something
vein ["ven] 1 n a vessel that carries
blood from parts of the body back
to the heart 2 n a line that forms
part of the framework of a leaf or
the wing of an insect 3 n a layer
of coal or metal within a mass of rock
velocity [v@ "las @ ti] n speed,
especially the speed of an object moving in a specific direction (Plural only for types and instances.)
velvet ["vEl vIt] 1 n a soft fabric
whose threads are short and close together and stick up on one side
of the fabric (Plural only for types and instances.) 2 adj made of Q
vengeance ["vEn dZ@ns] n hurting
someone or damaging someone’s property as a form of revenge (No plural form.)
→ with a vengeance
→ wreak vengeance (up)on someone
or something
venom ["vEn @m] 1 n the poison
in the bite or sting of a snake, spi-der, and other similar creatures (No plural.) 2 n extreme hatred (Figurative on Q No plural.)
venomous ["vEn @ m@s] 1 adj full
of venom; containing venom
(Adv: venomously.) 2 adj full of
extreme hatred (Figurative on Q
Adv: venomously.)
vent ["vEnt] 1 n an opening to a
passage through which air or other
gases can move 2 tv to express
one’s feelings; to make one’s feel-ings known
vent one’s spleen on someone or
something to get rid of one’s feel-vase
678
Trang 4ings of anger by attacking
some-one or something
ventilate ["vEn tI let] tv to bring
fresh air into a room or an
enclosed space; to expose
some-thing or someplace to fresh air
ventilator ["vEn tI le t#] 1 n a fan
that moves air into or out of a
room or enclosed space 2 n a
device that supplies air or oxygen
to someone who cannot breathe
without help
venture ["vEn tS#] 1 n a risky
thing to do, especially an action
taken in business where one risks
one’s money in order to gain more
money 2 tv to risk something; to
expose something to danger; to
place something in danger 3 iv.
to go into a place that could be
dangerous
verb ["v#b] n a word that describes
what someone or something is or
does; a word that expresses being,
action, or occurrence
→ auxiliary verb
→ intransitive verb
→ reflexive (verb)
→ transitive verb
verbal ["v#b @l] 1 adj expressed in
words; oral; spoken, not written
(Adv: verbally.) 2 adj of or about
a verb; formed from a verb (Adv:
verbally.)
verbal auxiliary ["v#b @l Og "zIl j@
ri] Go to auxiliary verb.
verdict ["v# dIkt] 1 n the decision
of a judge or a jury at the end of a
trial 2 n a conclusion; a
judg-ment; an opinion
→ bring a verdict in
verse ["v#s] 1 n poetry; language
as it is used in poetry (No plural.)
2 n a group of lines in a poem or song 3 n a portion of a chapter
of a book of the Bible
→ recite somethingchapter and verse
version ["v# Z@n] 1 n one person’s
account or description of
some-thing that has happened 2 n a
form of something that is different from another form of it, such as being in a different language or medium
vertical ["v# tI k@l] adj straight up
and down (Adv: vertically [ Ik
li].)
very ["vEr i] 1 adv especially;
quite; extremely; greatly; to a large degree (Used to strengthen the meaning of an adjective or another
adverb Very is not used with the
comparative forms, but is used with superlative forms, following
the, to strengthen meaning.)
2 adj same; actual; identical (Prenominal only.) 3 adj mere;
simple (Prenominal only.)
the very last the end; an absolute
end of something
the very thing the exact thing that
is required
vessel ["vEs @l] 1 n a container used to hold liquids 2 n a large
ship or boat
→ blood vessel
vest ["vEst] n a piece of clothing
that has no sleeves and is worn above the waist on top of a shirt and usually under a suit coat or jacket
→ life vest
→ play one’scards close to one’s vest
vest
679
Trang 5vet ["vEt] 1 n someone who has
served in the military, especially
during a war (Short for veteran.)
2 n a doctor who treats only
ani-mals (Short for veterinarian.)
veteran ["vEt (@) r@n] 1 n someone
who has served in the military,
especially during a war (Can be
shortened to vet.) 2 n someone
who has a lot of experience with
something (Figurative on Q.)
3 adj experienced; having a lot of
experience with something
veterinarian [vEt (@) r@ "nEr i @n] n.
a doctor who treats only animals
(Can be shortened to vet.)
veto ["vi to] 1 n an instance of
using one’s authority to stop a
pro-posed bill from becoming law
(Plural ends in -es.) 2 tv to stop a
bill from becoming law; not to
allow something to happen
vibrate ["vaI bret] 1 iv to move
back and forth very quickly; to
shake; to quiver 2 tv to move
something back and forth very
quickly; to shake something
vibration [vaI "bre S@n] n the
motions of moving back and forth
very quickly
vice ["vaIs] n a bad or immoral
habit
vice president ["vaIs "prEz @ d@nt]
n someone who is at a rank just
lower than president
vicinity [vI "sIn @ ti] n a
neighbor-hood; the location around
some-one or something; the surrounding
area
vicious ["vIS @s] 1 adj fierce; cruel;
likely to cause pain; dangerous
(Adv: viciously.) 2 adj evil; cruel.
(Adv: viciously.)
→ in a vicious circle
victim ["vIk t@m] n a person or an
animal that dies, suffers, or loses something because of someone else’s actions, a sickness, an acci-dent, or a natural disaster
victimize ["vIk t@ maIz] tv to cause
someone to be a victim; to cause someone to suffer
victor ["vIk t#] n a winner;
some-one who wins a fight, game, con-test, race, etc
victory ["vIk t@ ri] n winning;
achieving success: the success of defeating an enemy or opponent (Plural only for types and instances.)
→ alandslide victory
video ["vId i o] 1 n moving visible
images, such as what is recorded
on videotape; the visible part of a television program; the display seen on a computer monitor (No plural.) 2 n a movie that is avail-able on videotape; motion or action that is recorded on
video-tape (Plural ends in -s.) 3 n a
short film or taped version of a
song (Plural ends in -s.) 4 the
adj use of Q, W, or E.
videocassette ["vId i o k@ "sEt] n a
device that holds videotape, which
is put into a video camera or a videocassette recorder to record or play back images
videotape ["vId i o tep] 1 n a
length of plastic tape on which images can be recorded and played back (No plural.) 2 n a reel or cassette of Q; a copy of a movie vet
680
Trang 6or a television show that is
recorded on Q
view ["vju] 1 n the way something
looks from a place; a scene 2 n.
an opinion; the way someone
thinks about something 3 tv to
examine someone or something;
to look at someone or something
closely
→ abird’s-eye view
→ point of view
viewpoint ["vju poInt] n an
opin-ion; the way someone thinks about
something
vigil ["vIdZ @l] n an act or instance
of staying awake during the night
to watch something, to pray, or to
take care of someone who is sick
vigilant ["vIdZ @ l@nt] adj on guard;
watchful; watching over someone
or something (Adv: vigilantly.)
vigor ["vIg #] n strength; energy;
drive Y (No plural.)
vile ["vaIl] 1 adj very bad; very
unpleasant; disgusting (Adv:
vilely Comp: viler; sup: vilest.)
2 adj evil; wicked; immoral.
(Adv: vilely Comp: viler; sup:
vilest.)
village ["vIl IdZ] 1 n a small town;
a group of houses and businesses
in the country or suburbs 2 n all
the people who live in a particular
Q 3 the adj use of Q or W.
villager ["vIl IdZ #] n someone
who lives in a village
villain ["vIl @n] n someone who is
wicked or evil, especially someone
who is the bad person in a story or
movie
villain of the piece someone or
something that is responsible for something bad or wrong
vine ["vaIn] n a plant that has long,
thin stems that crawl along the ground or the sides of an object
→ die on the vine
→ wither on the vine
vinegar ["vIn I g#] n a sour liquid
made from wine or apple juice, used to flavor or preserve food (No plural.)
vinyl ["vaI n@l] 1 n a kind of com-mon plastic (No plural.) 2 adj.
made of Q
viola [vi "o l@] n a stringed musical
instrument that is similar to, but larger than, a violin
violence ["vaI @ l@ns] n rough
force; actions that hurt or damage people or things (No plural
Number is expressed with act(s) of violence.)
violent ["vaI @ l@nt] 1 adj using
rough force that can hurt or
dam-age people or things (Adv: vio-lently.) 2 adj showing violence.
(Adv: violently.)
violet ["vaI @ lIt] n a small plant
that has dark purple flowers with a delicate smell
violin [vaI @ "lIn] n a four-stringed
musical instrument played with a bow
violinist [vaI @ "lIn Ist] n someone
who plays a violin
viper ["vaI p#] n a venomous
snake, especially one with fangs
virtual ["v# tSu @l] 1 adj having an
effect as though someone or some-thing were the real person or
thing (Adv: virtually.) 2 adj of or
virtual
681
Trang 7about interaction on the Internet;
of or about interaction with other
people through computers (Adv:
virtually.)
virtue ["v# tSu] 1 n goodness,
especially in behavior or morals
(No plural.) 2 n a good moral
behavior or trait; a trait that is
val-ued by society 3 n an advantage;
a benefit
→ by virtue of something
virus ["vaI r@s] n a living thing so
small it can only be seen under a
microscope (Viruses cause
infec-tions and diseases in humans,
ani-mals, and plants, including
chicken pox, rabies, and the
com-mon cold.)
visa ["vi z@] n an official stamp,
signature, or attachment put in a
passport, which allows its owner
to enter a certain country
vise [vaIs] n a machine made of
metal jaws that can be pushed
tightly together, used for clamping
something tightly so that it doesn’t
move while someone works on it
visible ["vIz @ b@l] adj able to be
seen; not hidden (Adv: visibly.)
vision ["vI Z@n] 1 n the ability to
see; the power of sight (No
plu-ral.) 2 n something that is seen or
experienced in a dream, in one’s
imagination, or in one’s memory
3 n insight; the ability to
under-stand what something means and
how it will affect the future (No
plural.)
visit ["vIz It] 1 tv to go to a person
or a place for a period of time; to
be with a person as a visitor; to be
at a place as a visitor 2 tv to
examine or inspect something as
part of one’s job 3 iv to be
some-one’s guest; to stay at somesome-one’s house or at a place as a guest or tourist 4 n an act or instance of someone going or coming to a place for a period of time in order
to see someone or something, experience something, or talk with someone
→ pay a visit to someone or something
→ pay (someone or something) a visit
visitor ["vIz I t#] n someone who
visits someone or someplace as a guest or tourist
visual ["vI Zu @l] adj of or about
vision or seeing (Adv: visually.)
vital ["vaIt @l] 1 adj very
impor-tant; absolutely necessary;
essen-tial (Adv: vitally.) 2 adj of or about life; necessary for life 3 adj.
active; full of life (Adv: vitally.)
vitamin ["vaI t@ mIn] n a chemical
compound that is important for a person’s health and cannot be made by the body
vivid ["vIv Id] 1 adj clear; distinct (Adv: vividly.) 2 adj strongly or
brightly colored; deeply colored
(Adv: vividly.)
vocabulary [vo "kAb j@ lEr i] 1 n.
the words that someone knows; the words that are part of some-one’s language (No plural.) 2 n the words used in a certain busi-ness, profession, or activity (No plural.) 3 n a list of words with brief meanings, like those found in foreign-language dictionaries; a glossary of words and their mean-ings 4 n all the words of a lan-guage (No plural.)
vocation [vo "ke S@n] n an
occupa-tion; a trade; a profession virtue
682
Trang 8voice ["voIs] 1 n the sounds made
by a person who is speaking or
singing; the sounds made when
speaking or singing 2 n a
medium or channel for
represent-ing someone’s opinions 3 n a
grammar term that describes the
relation of the subject of a
sen-tence to the verb 4 tv to express
an opinion by speaking 5 tv [in
phonetics] to give a certain quality
to a sound by vibrating the vocal
folds and making the sound of Q
→ at the top of one’svoice
→ lower one’svoice
void ["voId] 1 adj not binding
according to the law; having no
legal authority; having no legal
effect; no longer valid 2 tv to
cause a law to stop being a law
3 n an area that is empty; an
empty space; a gap
volcano [val "ke no] n a mountain
with an opening at the top or on
the sides from which steam, gas,
molten rock, and ash sometimes
are ejected by pressure or force
from inside the earth (Plural ends
in -s or -es.)
volleyball ["val i bOl] 1 n a sport
where two teams on opposite sides
of a net try to hit a large, light ball
back and forth over the net
with-out letting the ball touch the
ground (No plural.) 2 n the ball
used to play Q
volt ["volt] n a unit of
measure-ment of electrical force
voltage ["vol tIdZ] n an amount of
an electrical force, measured in
volts
volume ["val j@m] 1 n a book,
especially one book in a series of
books 2 n the loudness of sound.
(Plural only for types and
instances.) 3 n an amount of something 4 n the expression of
space in three dimensions, deter-mined by multiplying an object’s length, width, and depth
voluntary ["val @n tEr i] 1 adj.
[done] by one’s own choice (Adv:
voluntarily [val @n "tEr @ li].)
2 adj supported by volunteers or
gifts
volunteer [val @n "tIr] 1 n
one who does work for free; some-one who agrees to take on a job or task 2 tv to offer one’s time, help,
or energy at no cost; to give one’s
services for free 3 tv to say
something without being forced to talk; to say something by one’s own choice 4 the adj use of Q
volunteer for something to submit
oneself for some task
vomit ["vam It] 1 tv to throw food
up after one has eaten it; to bring something up from the stomach
2 iv to throw [something] up
from the stomach through the
mouth 3 n something that has
been thrown up from the stomach through the mouth (No plural.)
vote ["vot] 1 n a formal or legal
expression of one’s opinion on an issue, especially on political issues
2 n the Q, viewed collectively, of
a large number of people who share a certain characteristic or background (No plural Treated as singular.) 3 iv to express one’s opinion on an issue by raising one’s hand or marking one’s choice
on a ballot
→ cast one’svote
vote
683
Trang 9the vote n the right to vote E (No
plural Treated as singular.)
vote a split ticket to cast a ballot
on which the votes are divided
between two or more parties
vote a straight ticket to cast a
ballot on which all the votes are
for members of the same political
party
a vote of confidence a poll taken
to discover whether or not a
per-son, party, etc., still has the
sup-port of a majority of the voters
a vote of thanks a speech
express-ing appreciation and thanks to a
speaker, lecturer, organizer, etc.,
and inviting the audience to
applaud
vote someone or something down
to defeat someone or something in
an election
voter ["vot #] n someone who has
the right to vote in an election
vow ["vaU] 1 n an oath; a sincere promise 2 tv to make Q; to
swear that one will do something (The object can be a clause with that U.)
vowel ["vaU @l] 1 n a speech
sound that is made without com-pletely closing any parts of the mouth while air passes through it
2 n a letter of the alphabet that
represents a speech sound that is not a consonant;[in English] the
letters a, e, i, o, and u 3 the adj.
use of Q or W
voyage ["voI @dZ] n a journey,
especially one made over water, through the air, or in space; a journey made on a ship, airplane,
or spacecraft
→ maiden voyage
vulture ["v^l tS#] n a large bird
that lives on the meat of dead animals
vote
684
Trang 10waddle ["wad l] iv to walk with
slow, short steps while moving the
body from side to side, as a duck
walks
wade ["wed] 1 iv to walk through
shallow water or mud 2 tv to
cross a shallow body of water by
walking through it
wade in(to something) 1 to walk
into an area covered by water
2 to get quickly and directly
involved in something
waffle ["waf @l] 1 n a thick round
or square pancake with depressed
squares that form a grid 2 iv to
change one’s mind on an issue
many times
wag ["wAg] 1 tv to move
some-thing up and down or from side to
side many times 2 iv to move up
and down or from side to side
many times
→ cause (some) tongues to wag
→ thetail wagging the dog
wage ["wedZ] 1 tv to begin and
continue a war, battle, or struggle
against someone or something
2 n payment for work, especially
when a certain amount is paid for
each hour worked (Often plural
with the same meaning Compare
this with salary.)
wager ["we dZ#] 1 n a bet 2 tv.
to risk an amount of money on the
outcome of an event 3 tv to bet
that something will happen; to bet
that something is or will be the
case (The object is a clause with
that U.)
wagon ["wAg @n] 1 n a strong
four-wheeled vehicle with a flat bottom that is pulled by horses, mules, or oxen 2 n a small, light four-wheeled cart with a flat bot-tom that is pulled as a children’s toy
→ fix someone’swagon
→ on the wagon
wail ["wel] 1 n a long, loud cry,
especially one of pain or sadness
2 iv to cry out with a long, loud
sound because of pain or sadness
3 tv to utter something with a
long, loud cry of pain or sadness (The object can be a clause with that U.)
waist ["west] 1 n the part of the
body below the bottom of the ribs
and above the hips 2 n the part
of a piece of clothing that covers Q; the part of a piece of clothing that hangs from Q
waistline ["west laIn] n an
imagi-nary line around the body at the smallest part of one’s waist, usu-ally where the top hem of a pair
of pants or a skirt rests on the body
wait ["wet] 1 iv to stay in a place
until someone or something else arrives or returns; to stay in a place until something happens
2 n a period of time that one
waits for someone or something
→ can’t wait (for somethingto happen)
→ can’t wait (to do something)
→ themoment everyone has been waiting for
→ on a waiting list
685
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Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc