Meaning & use
volumes
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“volumes” is a form of “volume”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
A book, especially one of a set or series.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a volume' for one book and 'volumes' for more than one.
Patterns
- a volume of something
- volumes of something
The library has several volumes of poetry from the 19th century.
She bought the first two volumes of the fantasy series.
This encyclopedia comes in twelve volumes.
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
The amount of space that something fills or contains.
Grammar: Can be countable ('a volume of 5 liters') or uncountable ('the volume of water').
Patterns
- the volume of something
- a volume of something
The volume of water in the tank is measured in liters.
The volume of traffic increased after the new road opened.
Please calculate the volume of the box.
noununcountable
The loudness of a sound, especially from a device.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used with 'turn up/down' or 'increase/decrease'.
Patterns
- turn up the volume
- turn down the volume
- the volume of something
Can you turn down the volume? It's too loud.
He turned up the volume on the TV to hear the news.
The volume of the music made conversation difficult.
nounpluralformal
A large amount or quantity of something.
Grammar: Usually used in the plural 'volumes' with 'of'.
Patterns
- volumes of something
- speak volumes
The report contains volumes of information about climate change.
She has written volumes of letters to her family.
His silence spoke volumes about his feelings.
Word forms
| singular | volume |
|---|
Common combinations
- turn up the volume
- Please turn up the volume; I can't hear the dialogue.
- turn down the volume
- He turned down the volume when the baby fell asleep.
- volume of traffic
- The volume of traffic on this road doubles during rush hour.
- speak volumes
- Her smile spoke volumes about how happy she was.
- a volume of poetry
- He published a volume of poetry last year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- book
- A general word for a written work; 'volume' often suggests a book that is part of a larger set or a thick, formal book.
- loudness
- Refers specifically to how loud a sound is; 'volume' is the more common everyday word for sound level on devices.
- amount
- A general word for quantity; 'volumes' suggests a very large amount, often of information or writing.
Word family
- voluminous adjective
- Very large, spacious, or producing a lot of writing.
Commonly confused: volumes or volumn?
volumes vs volumn
A common misspelling. The correct spelling is 'volume' (no 'n' before the final 'e').
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Volume' meaning loudness is uncountable, so it takes 'the' and no plural: 'the volume'. 'Volumes' is used for books or large amounts, not for sound level.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “volumes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.