vol-au-vent /'vol a vb; NAmE ,vo:l ou 'va:/ noun (BrE, from French) a small round case of light pastry filled with meat, fish, etc. in a cream sauce, often eaten with your fingers at parties

)

vol can ic /vDl'kaemk; NAmE vcd-/ adj. caused or produced by a volcano A lU fill; A lb 41 W; A Ilf A X W: volcanic rocks A ill ^ 0 volcanic eruptions X lii A vol cano /vnl'keinau; NAmE vail'keinou/ noun (pi. -oes or -os) a mountain with a large opening at the top through which gases and lava (= hot liquid rock) are forced out into the air, or have been in the past X ill: An active volcano may 'erupt at any time. X lb ^ N" vft'Ao O a dormant volcano (= one that is not active at present) 4MRAlll 0 an extinct volcano (= one that is no longer active) %X\h

Volcanology /,vDlka‘nnlad3i; NAmE ,va:lka'na:l-/ (also vul-can-ology) noun [U] the scientific study of volcanoes

AUl^

vole /vaul; NAmE voul/ noun a small animal like a mouse or rat that lives in fields or near rivers ffl M. — see also water vole

volition /va'lijn; NAmE also vou'l-/ noun [U] (formal) the power to choose sth freely or to make your own decisions M.AA; § Jg$s#; g SZ9 free will: They left entirely of their own volition (= because they wanted to). I d^XW*

vol-ley /‘voli; NAmE 'vaili/ noun, verb m noun 1 (in some sports, for example tennis or football (soccer) /dffW^XSjc) a hit or kick of

the ball before it touches the ground HAS US ) _: She hit a forehand volley into the net. M IE X ^ X ii P«! o 2 a lot of bullets, stones, etc. that are fired or thrown at the same time ( X #W ) M M, fr^lA; ( *A W ) A S: A volley of shots rang out. “AftA#¹¹? fftMiti o o Police fired a volley over the heads of the crowd. l#X#o 3 a lot

of questions, comments, insults, etc. that are directed at sb quickly one after the other ( Mfnh ifrfe, #S§

W ) S i/E A 4] PS77I torrent : She faced a volley of angry questions from her mother.

WMWo

• verb (in some sports, for example tennis or football (soccer) , #n Wto hit or kick the

ball before it touches the ground ) ; H

dr, ft I't: [VN] He volleyed the ball into the back of

the net. [also V]

volleyball /‘vDliboil; NAmE 'va:l-/ noun [U] a game in which two teams of six players use their hands to hit a large ball backwards and forwards over a high net while trying not to let the ball touch the ground on their own side — see also beach volleyball

volt /vault; VDlt; NAmE voult/ noun (abbr. V) a unit for measuring the force of an electric current #t, X# ( X FkMfv ) : a high-security fence with 5 000 volts passing through it ft 5000

volt-age /'vaultid3; NAmE ‘voult-/ noun [U, C] electrical force measured in volts 4i £k ; X # Uc : highAow

voltage M / fftfik

volte-face /.volt 'fa:s; NAmE ,vo:lt/ noun [sing.] (formal) a complete change of opinion or plan ( S£JEn5cit$JW ) X ¥i $, x; ft ^ EYTH about-turn : This represents a volte-face in government thinking,

volt-meter /'vaultmi:ta(r); NAmE ‘voult-/ noun an instrument for measuring voltage X#it; tklAA vol-uble /'vnljubl; NAmE 'vailja-/ adj. (formal) 1 talking a lot, and with enthusiasm, about a subject HiKd;

X W : Evelyn was very voluble on the subject of women’s rights. ^1ti tf M»

2 expressed in many words and spoken quickly M fij W; WXW: voluble protests ►volubly

/‘VDljubli; NAmE ‘vailja-/ adv. vol ume 0"* /‘VDljuim; NAmE ‘vail-; -jam/ noun 1 [U, C] the amount of space that an object or a substance fills; the amount of space that a container hasj^lR; #fP_v; §M: How do you measure the volume of a gas? # ill M if it Hfc ? 0 jars of different

volumes XM^fbWfclX 2 [U, C] the amount of sth it; $j£: the sheer volume (= large amount) of business X Mik# o This work has grown in volume recently, jj¹! XXWJIIliiliftjjnTo 0 New roads are being built to cope with the increased volume of traffic. W

if0!MjSH4^/Hl7 WSilMo 0 Sales volumes fell 0.2% in June. X#f#W#1lF$$T^T 0.2% ₀ 3 [U] the amount of sound that is produced by a television, radio, etc. # it; U[Rj/t': to turn the volume up/down lEia aiJSX / X 4 [C] (abbr. vol.) a book, that is part of a series of books ( J^#4Sli4^rW ) —~ffl: an encyclopedia in 20 volumes —^ 20 #W If 44^45 5 [C] (formal) a book 45 : a library of over 50 000 volumes i£45 5 77^$iWfII45it O a slim volume of poetry $£$|W—*6 [C] (abbr. vol.) a series of different issues of the same magazine, especially all the issues for one year #, -g-i-TX ( |W|-XfcA W — X4'Jfflf], X 4b — ¥ W ) : ‘New Scientist’ volume

142, number 3 % 142 #^ 3 ®3 D*XSI see

SPEAK

vo-lu-min-ous /vo'luiminas/ adj. (formal) 1 (of clothing AM) very large; having a lot of cloth HE A

HSU ample: a voluminous skirt . X 2 (of a piece of writing, a book, etc. X $, 45 ^ #) very long and detailed ; %

AW 3 (of a container, piece of furniture, etc.

^r#) very large MAW: I sank down into a voluminous armchair. Mo ►vo-lu-min-

ous-ly adv.

volu-mize (BrE also -ise) /‘vnljumaiz; NAmE ‘vail-/ noun [VN] to make hair look thicker {■£ (.A A ) ^

( AA ) AS ► volu-mizer /’vDljumaiz9(r); NAmE ‘vail-/ noun

vol-un-tar-ily /‘vnlantrali; NAmE .vailan'terali/ adv. 1 willingly; without being forced g Jg M; W Mk; ± M: He was not asked to leave—he went voluntarily. 4ft A it it A, Ji itfe ± zb A W o 2 without payment; free Aliitfe; A#itfe: The fund is voluntarily administered.

volun tary /'vnlantri; NAmE 'vailanteri/ adj., noun

a adj. 1 done willingly, not because you are forced g jg W; AiW; A^jW; g^-^rMW: a voluntary agreement g Jg 14 A o Attendance on the course is purely voluntary, n/f & H H Ji g M W. „ 0 to pay voluntary

contributions into a pension fund g 0

(BrE) He took voluntary redundancy. T g M ici

fto HUH compulsory 2 [usually before noun] (of work If£) done by people who choose to do it without being paid g jgt£W; W; A£t!W: I do some voluntary work at the local hospital.

#14Xf^₀ 0 She works there on a voluntary basis. M g IS It IP M 3$ X A o o voluntary services/bodies/ agencies/organizations (= organized, controlled or supported by people who choose to do this and are usually not paid) X M §■ / ® #/4il # / M HR o the voluntary sector (= organizations which are set up to help people and which do not make a profit, for example charities) 3 [only before noun] (of a

person A ) doing a job without wanting to be paid for it g Jg W ; iiW; X # W ; g %. W : a voluntary worker A g I.# 4 (technical Ain) (of movements of the body XWffizjj) that you can control W; AIM M W WJ3 INVOLUNTARY

* noun (pi. -ies) a piece of music played before, during or after a church service, usually on an organ

ft, BPAft (

mm)

, Voluntary .Service Over¹ seas noun [u] (abbr. VSO) a British charity that sends skilled people such as doctors and teachers to work in other countries as volunteers

mm)

volun-teer /.vDlan'tia(r); NAmE yailan'tir/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 a person who does a job without being paid for itA#X##; Ad#: volunteer helpers AftSft# o Schools need volunteers to help children to read.

JLSl^^o 2 a person who offers to do sth without being forced to do it g ^4 A J§ #; XaI