From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvacuumvac‧u‧um1 /ˈvækjuəm, -kjʊm/ ●●○ noun 1 [countable]HPEMPTY a space that is completely empty of all gas, especially one from which all the air has been taken away2 [countable]DHC a vacuum cleaner3 [singular]NOT HAVE a situation in which someone or something is missing or lackingcreate/leave a vacuum (in something) Her husband’s death left a vacuum in her life.power/political/moral etc vacuum the political vacuum caused by the ban on Communist Party activity4 → in a vacuumCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 3: a situation in which someone or something is missing or lackingverbscreate a vacuumHis sudden departure created a vacuum at the head of the company.leave a vacuumThe disappearance of religious beliefs has left a vacuum in many people's lives.fill a vacuumWhat political ideas have filled the vacuum left by the fall of communism?adjectivesADJECTIVES/NOUN + vacuum a power vacuumThe leader's sudden death created a power vacuum.a political vacuumMilitary leaders stepped in to fill the political vacuum.a moral vacuum (=a lack of moral standards)Many children are growing up in a moral vacuum.a policy vacuumThere is a policy vacuum on climate change.
Examples from the Corpus
vacuum• His adolescence and young manhood had occurred in a vacuum.• This made a partial vacuum, which kept the cardboard attached to the mouth of the glass.• He shook religion out of her mind, as it were, and into the vacuum rushed something rather disagreeable.power/political/moral etc vacuum• Young people from welfare-dependent single-parent families just aren't artful dodgers ready to graduate into serious crime and a moral vacuum.• Nevertheless the discretion is not to be exercised in a moral vacuum.• In both cases the result of improvement is a dehumanized landscape and something like a moral vacuum.• A power vacuum would probably destroy his hopes for a smooth transition of authority.• In the post-Nehru political vacuum, this was simply a recipe for instability.• Pavlov had warned on Aug. 13 of a potential power vacuum, unless the centre retained sufficient economic leverage.• In the power vacuum following the trials, Berlusconi became Prime Minister.• There is no satisfying solution to the moral vacuum that is created when one human being murders another.vacuumvacuum2 ●●○ verb [intransitive, transitive] DHCto clean using a vacuum cleaner→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
vacuum• He vacuums a third time, for a few seconds longer.• I loved getting the housework done during the week and then playing on the weekend, all the vacuuming done.• Meanwhile, his receptionist can not vacuum fat, nor can she type as fast.• His chair having to be replaced after vacuuming in exactly the same position as before.• The inside has been vacuumed recently, too.• I stay in, play Bach on the earphones and vacuum the broadloom.• They sent him along to vacuum the carpets, but he wound up with his very own theatre to practice in.• Have you vacuumed the carpets?Origin vacuum1 (1500-1600) Latin vacuus; → VACUOUS 