Meaning & use
a vac
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
An informal word for a vacuum cleaner, a machine that sucks up dust and dirt from floors and other surfaces.
Grammar: Countable and informal: use 'a vac' for one machine and 'vacs' for more than one, as in 'the vac is broken' and 'we keep two vacs in the closet'.
Patterns
- use a vac
- a vac is broken
- buy a new vac
The kitchen floor is covered in crumbs, so please get the vac out.
Our old vac finally died, so we bought a new one online.
She keeps a small vac upstairs for quick cleanups.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To clean a floor or surface with a vacuum cleaner.
Grammar: Can take an object ('vac the carpet') or stand alone ('I already vacced'). The -ing form is 'vaccing' and the past is usually 'vacced'.
Patterns
- vac something
- vac the carpet
- vac up something
I need to vac the living room before the guests arrive.
He vacced the whole flat in twenty minutes.
She was vaccing under the sofa when the phone rang.
Word forms
| plural | vacs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | vacs |
| past tense | vacced |
| past participle | vacced |
| -ing form | vaccing |
Common combinations
- get the vac out
- Get the vac out; there's sand all over the hall.
- a new vac
- A new vac with a longer cord would make this easier.
- vac the carpet
- I'll vac the carpet after lunch.
- vac up the crumbs
- He vacced up the crumbs before anyone noticed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vacuum cleaner
- This is the full, neutral name and is better in writing or formal speech; 'vac' sounds casual and is mostly spoken.
- hoover
- In British English 'hoover' is a very common informal verb for the same action, but it comes from a brand name and is not used in the same way everywhere.
Word family
- vacuum noun
- The full form, meaning a space with no air or, informally, a vacuum cleaner.
Commonly confused: a vac or vac?
a vac vs vac
In British universities, 'vac' can also mean the long summer holiday, so context matters: 'the vac' may mean the vacation, not the cleaner.
Practice
The dog has left hair all over the sofa, so I'll ___ before my parents arrive.
Choose one answer.
'Vac it' is correct because 'vac' can be a verb that takes the object 'it'. 'Vac it up it' repeats the object, 'vacuum cleaner it' uses a noun where a verb is needed, and 'do a vac' is not a natural English phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a vac”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.