represents a college or high school, especially in sports
competitions (
E,
^ PA 2 (Srf, old use or IndE or SAfrE) university A ^
: She’s still
at varsity. »
■
adj. [only before noun] (BrE, informal) used when describing
activities connected with the universities of
varsity match
vary 0-w /'veari; NAmE 'veri; 'vaeri/ verb (vary-ing, varied, varied)
1 [V] ~ (in sth) (of a group of similar
things — ^JeLfUJ.
to be different from each
other in size, shape, etc. (*/J\ CTJ H33 DIFFER:
The
students’ work varies considerably in quality.
It O The quality of the students’ work
varies considerably. 0
New
techniques were introduced with varying degrees of success. 2 [V] ~ (with
sth) | ~ (from sth to
sth) | ~ (between A and B) to change or be
different according to the situation ( #§1f #£ ) , The menu varies with the
season. M ^ 'ff ffl ^ Ejj 0 o Prices vary according to
the type of room you require.
0 Class numbers vary between 25 and
30.
25 fij 30 0 ‘What time do you start work?’
‘It varies. ’ ” 3 [VN]
to make changes to sth to
make it slightly different $ ®; ( The job enables me to vary the
hours
I
work. W|b] c
—see also
VARIED
vas-cu-lar /'vaeskjal0(r)/
adj. [usually before noun] (technical 7ft if) of or
containing veins (= the tubes
that carry liquids around the bodies of animals and plants)
Kum mm-, mm
vas def-er-ens /,vaes 'defarenz/ noun {pi. vasa def-er-en- tia /.veisa defa'renjia/) (anatomy Mj the tube through which sperm pass
from the testis on their way out of the body
vase /vctiz; NAmE veis; veiz/ noun a container made of
glass, etc., used for holding cut flowers or as a decorative object ft a vase of flowers—Mft
vas-ec-tomy /va'sektami/ noun {pi. -ies) {medical @E) a medical operation to
remove part of each of the tubes in a man’s body that carry sperm, after which he is not able to
make a woman pregnant Vas-el-ine™ /'vaesaliin/ noun [U] a thick soft clear
substance that is used on skin to heal or protect it, or as a lubricant to stop surfaces from
sticking together
vasocon striction /.veizaukan'strikjn; NAmE -zou-/ noun [U] {biology X or medical @l) a process in which blood vessels become narrower, which tends to increase blood pressure )
vaso di lation /.veizaudai'leijn; NAmE -zou-/ noun [U] {biology 4 or medical jg) a process in which blood vessels become wider, which tends to reduce blood pressure (
lfilj±|#j& )
vassal /'vaesl/ noun 1 a man in the Middle Ages who promised to
fight for and be loyal to a king or other powerful owner of land, in return for
being given land to live on XtE,
) 2 a country that depends on and is
controlled by another country pftlf H; MS vast 0-w /varst; NAmE vaest/ adj. extremely large in area, size, amount,
etc.
IX.^](ft; M XW; fM A ; A M H331 huge : a vast area of forest 0 a vast crowd — Af$A 0 a vast
amount of information A JHg Jg, o At dusk bats appear in vast numbers. f i#0&0t4A}lt;±iJlo 0 His business empire was vast. A0
0 In the vast
majority of cases, this should not be a
problem, A ► vast-ness noun [U, C]: the vastness of space A£?#J?n$llA|li vast ly /'vaistli; NAmE 'vaestli/ adv. very much # #; fM: I’m a vastly different person now. Mft £ M % M A
T o o The quality of the training has
vastly improved.
| 2233 V-Chip
VAT
/,vi: ei 'ti:;
vaet/ noun [U] {BrE) a tax that is added to the
price of goods and services (abbreviation for Value added tax’) i#'dfft ( A
value added tax ) : Prices include VAT. 0 £27.50 + VAT * 27.50
vat /vaet/ noun a large container for holding liquids,
especially in industrial processes ( AfaXikflj ) Affi> A ^ ^, IT
, rif : distilling vats 0 a vat of
whisky —Affi$£±^
Vati-can
/'vaetikan/
noun the Vatican 1 [sing.] the group of
buildings in
2
[sing.+sing./pl. v.] the centre of government of the
Roman Catholic Church AAiktOi )
vaude-ville /'voidavil/ noun [U] 1 {NAmE) = variety(4) 2 = music hall(I)-
'vaudeville theater noun {NAmE) = music hall(2)
vault /vo:lt/ noun, verb
a
noun 1
a room with thick walls and a strong door, especially in a bank, used for
keeping valuable things safe ( AjfUfr Eft ) 4#, 2
a room under a
church
or in a cemetery, used for burying people
( ifc ) MX 3 a roof or ceiling in
the form of an arch or a series of arches M; M H 4 a jump made by
vaulting ; W- ©fc — see
also POLE VAULT
■
verb ~ (over) sth to jump over an object in a single
movement, using your hands or a pole to push you HE: [V] She vaulted over the
gate and ran up the path.
0 [VN] to vault a fence — see also
POLE
VAULT
vaulted
vault
ed /'voiltid/
adj. {architecture f|) made in
the shape of an arch or a series
of arches; having a ceiling or
roof of this shape ^: a vaulted ceiling/
cellar
vault
ing /'voiltiq/
noun [U] {architecture ^) a pattern of arches in a ceiling or roof (
'vaulting
horse (also
horse) noun a large object with
legs, and sometimes handles, that gymnasts
use to vault over (
vaunt-ed
/'vaintid/
adj. [usually before noun] {formal) proudly talked about
or praised as being very good, especially when this is not deserved M X.
<!i ; j&XM
^ : Their much vaunted
reforms did not materialize.
va-va-voom /,va: va: 'vu:m; ,vae
vae/ noun [u] {informal) the quality of being
exciting or sexually attractive 4-A Al£il$#14; till hidfdli?I First used in the
1950s in the US to represent the sound of a car engine running.
* 20 [M 50
VC /,vi: 'si:/ noun
[sing.] a medal for special courage
that is given to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces
(abbreviation for ‘Victoria Cross’) m£M Victoria Cross,
E) : He was awarded the VC.
O
im •
'V-chip noun a computer chip in a
television receiver that can be
programmed to block material that