Vapor
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈveɪpə/
- Rhymes: -eɪpə(r)
Alternative forms
Origin
From Latin vapor ("steam, heat").
Noun
vapor
(plural vapors)- Cloudy diffused matter such as mist, steam or fumes suspended in the air.
- The gaseous state of a substance that is normally a solid or liquid.
- 2013, Philip J. Bushnell, Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance, Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.
Derived terms
Full definition of vapor
Verb
- (intransitive) To become vapor; to be emitted or circulated as vapor.
- (transitive) To turn into vapor.
- (intransitive) To use insubstantial language; to boast or bluster.
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Bisara of Pooree’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society 2005, p. 172:He vapoured, and fretted, and fumed, and trotted up and down, and tried to make himself pleasing in Miss Hollis's big, quiet, grey eyes, and failed.