value- laden adj. influenced by personal opinions ^ ± M {6 B Bfnl ; ± SI : ‘Freedom fighter’ is a value­laden word. “ g &

value-less /'vaeljuilas/ adj. (formal) without value or worth fit ft        HT?I worthless 0223

VALUABLE

valuer /'vaelju:a(r)/ noun a person whose job is to esti­mate how much property, land, etc. is worth (

) mx

valve /vaelv/ noun 1 a device for controlling the flow of a liquid or gas, letting it move in one direction only j$l; wn; tS n; Hn — picture o bicycle 2 a struc­ture in the heart or in a vein that lets blood flow in one direction only ) H ( H) 3 a device in

some brass musical instruments for changing the note ( ) $ft, tSS — picture o page R8

vam oose /va'muis/ verb [V] (old fashioned, informal) to leave quickly

vamp /vaemp/ noun (old-fashioned, disapproving) a sex­ually attractive woman who tries to control men

( )

vam pire /'vaempaia(r)/ noun (in stories # ij£) a dead person who leaves his or her grave at night to suck the blood of living people n&jfoL& (

)

'vampire bat noun a S American bat (= an animal like a mouse with wings) that sucks the blood of other animals iRjfillg ( 7*^) vam pir ism /'vaempaiarizam/ noun [U] the behaviour or practices of vampires     A;

van 0-k /vaen/ noun

1                  a covered vehicle with no side windows in its back

half, usually smaller than a lorry/truck, used for carrying goods or people       a furni­ture van js       o a police van (= for carrying

police officers or prisoners) HA 0 a delivery van A 0 a van driver  — picture c> truck 2 (NAmE)

a covered vehicle with side windows, usually smaller than a lorry/truck, that can carry about twelve passengers jfliA (       12 QI/eA) 3 (BrE) a closed

coach/car on a train for carrying bags, cases, etc. or mail  a luggage

van   H»HB1 in the 'van (BrE, formal) at the

front or in the leading position

van adium /va'neidiam/ noun [u] (symb V) a chemical element. Vanadium is a soft poisonous silver-grey metal that is added to some types of steel to make it stronger. IA

'van conversion noun (US) = conversion van van-dal /'vaendl/ noun a person who deliberately destroys or damages public property vandal ism /'vaendalizam/ noun [U] the crime of destroying or damaging sth, especially public property, deliberately and for no good reason IP;        an act of vandalism t&MMtf'

van dal ize (BrE also -ise) /'vaendalaiz/ verb [VN] [usually passive] to damage sth, especially public property, delib­erately and for no good reason

(xw&mm)

vane /vein/ noun a flat blade that is moved by wind or water and is part of the machinery in a windmill, etc. (  ) It, nf)t, $&R+ — see also weathervane

van-guard /'vaengaid; NAmE -ga:rd/ noun (usually the vanguard) [sing] 1 the leaders of a movement in society, for example in politics, art, industry, etc. (

3fc#, AW:

The company is proud to be in the vanguard of scientific progress.          AitfcftM ll

2                  the part of an army, etc. that is at the front when moving forward to attack the enemy AAnPfA fjffGZ;

AA H32 REARGUARD

van-ilia /va'mla/ noun, adj.

noun [U] a substance obtained from the beans of a trop­ical plant, also called vanilla, used to give flavour to sweet foods, for example ice cream If ABI, |f AH H

2231    vapour trail

(BrE) vanilla essence # A A I# 0 (NAmE) vanilla extract H AAff o (BrE) a vanilla pod  0 (NAmE) a

vanilla bean ff-.a

is adj. 1 flavoured with vanilla A # A A H A &A [ft: vanilla ice cream H A-2 (informal, especially NAmE) ordinary; not special in any way If 31; # # (ft;   : The city is pretty much plain vanilla.

van il lin /va'nilm/ noun [u] a strong-smelling chemical which gives vanilla its smell If ABf; If AH van ish /'vaemJV verb [V] 1 to disappear suddenly and/or in a way that you cannot explain (

A: The magician vanished in a puff of smoke. It AW A    0 My glasses seem to have

vanished. IS ift BfHt fW j[0 o He vanished

without trace. Aj2 to stop existing A M # A ; tl! A ; i&M : the vanishing woodlands of Europe gg A ii (ft gJt M ft Hfe 0 All hopes of a peaceful settlement had now vanished.

A o n*T?7l see act n., face n.

'vanishing point noun [usually sing.] (technical Ai£) the point in the distance at which parallel lines appear to meet

van-ity /'vaenati/ noun (pi. -ies) 1 [u] (disapproving) too much pride in your own appearance, abilities or achievements gj%; gA; M$k;        She had no

personal vanity (— about her appearance), i/t ^

H A g ft o see also vain(2) 2 [U] (literary) the quality of being unimportant, especially compared with other things that are important ( AjaA#^ It ) # A, A#f iS ,    : the vanity of human

ambition in the face of death AAj&jS.^E At® lulftiifcA AiS 3 vanities [pi.] behaviour or attitudes that show

people’s vanity gftjft.frA;

Politics is too often concerned only with the personal vanities of politicians.          AA£ftA^jN£

WAo 4 (also 'vanity table) [c] (NAmE) = dressing table

'vanity case noun a small bag or case with a mirror in it, used for carrying make-up ‘vanity unit noun (BrE) a washbasin fixed into a flat surface with cupboards underneath (   M

van quish /‘vaeqkwij7 verb [VN] (literary) to defeat sb completely in a competition, war, etc. AAtEH;

BCCl conquer

the van-quished /'vaegkwijt/ noun [pl.J (literary) people who have been completely defeated in a competition, war, etc.

vant-age point /'va:ntid3 point; NAmE 'vaen-/ (also formal vant-age) noun a position from which you watch sth; a point in time or a situation from which you consider sth, especially the past (

(         The

cafe was a good vantage point for watching the world go by. o From the

vantage point of the present, the war seems to have achieved nothing, ft @»»

m0

vapid /'vaepid/ adj. (formal) lacking interest or intelli­gence AM; ttld&A M3SW saaDULL ► vapid ity /va'pidati/ noun [U] vapor (NAmE) = vapour

va-por-ize (BrE also -ise) /'veiparaiz/ verb [VN] (technical Ai«) to turn into gas; to make sth turn into gas (     )

va por iza tion, -isa-tion /.veiparai'zeijn; NAmE -ra'z-/ noun [U]

va por ous /'veiparas/ adj. (formal) full of vapour; like vapour % ft M H W; iU M H W: clouds of vaporous air

va-pour (BrE) (NAmE vapor) /'veipa(r)/ noun [C, U] a mass of very small drops of liquid in the air, for example steam         M-H: water vapour

'vapour trail (BrE) (NAmE 'va-por trail) noun the white line that is left in the sky by a plane (   iti $ §fT

w) tenmm,