5 VERB To void something means to officially say that it is not valid. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] The Supreme Court threw out the confession and voided his conviction for murder.
voile /vɔ I l/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Voile is thin material which is used for making women's clothing, for example dresses, blouses, and scarves.
vol. (vols ) Vol. is used as a written abbreviation for volume when you are referring to one or more books in a series of books.
vola|tile /vɒ ləta I l, [AM ] -t ə l/
1 ADJ A situation that is volatile is likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly. □ The international oil markets have been highly volatile since the early 1970s. ● vola|til|ity /vɒ lət I l I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] He is keen to see a general reduction in arms sales given the volatility of the region.
2 ADJ If someone is volatile , their mood often changes quickly. □ He has a volatile temper.
3 ADJ A volatile liquid or substance is one that will quickly change into a gas. [TECHNICAL ] □ It's thought that the blast occurred when volatile chemicals exploded.
vol|can|ic /vɒlkæ n I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Volcanic means coming from or created by volcanoes. □ Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions.
vol|ca|no /vɒlke I noʊ/ (volcanoes ) N‑COUNT A volcano is a mountain from which hot melted rock, gas, steam, and ash from inside the Earth sometimes burst. □ The volcano erupted last year killing about 600 people.
vole /voʊ l/ (voles )
1 N‑COUNT A vole is a small animal that looks like a mouse but has very small ears and a short tail. Voles usually live in fields or near rivers.
2 → see also water vole
vo|li|tion /vəl I ʃ ə n, [AM ] voʊl-/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Your volition is the power you have to decide something for yourself. [FORMAL ] □ We like to think that everything we do and everything we think is a product of our volition.
2 PHRASE If you do something of your own volition , you do it because you have decided for yourself that you will do it and not because someone else has told you to do it. [FORMAL ] □ Makin said Mr Coombes had gone to the police of his own volition.
vol|ley /vɒ li/ (volleys , volleying , volleyed )
1 VERB In sport, if someone volleys the ball, they hit it before it touches the ground. □ [V n prep/adv] He volleyed the ball spectacularly into the far corner of the net. □ [V ] McNeil volleyed more effectively in the second set. ● N‑COUNT Volley is also a noun. □ She hit most of the winning volleys.
2 N‑COUNT A volley of gunfire is a lot of bullets that travel through the air at the same time. □ [+ of ] It's still not known how many died in the volleys of gunfire.
volley|ball /vɒ libɔːl/ N‑UNCOUNT Volleyball is a game in which two teams hit a large ball with their hands backwards and forwards over a high net. If you allow the ball to touch the ground, the other team wins a point.
volt /voʊ lt/ (volts ) N‑COUNT A volt is a unit used to measure the force of an electric current.
volt|age /voʊ lt I dʒ/ (voltages ) N‑VAR The voltage of an electrical current is its force measured in volts. □ The systems are getting smaller and using lower voltages. □ …high-voltage power lines.
volte-face /vɒ lt fɑː s/ (volte-faces ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you say that someone's behaviour is a volte-face , you mean that they have changed their opinion or decision completely, so that it is the opposite of what it was before. [FORMAL ] □ The day's events were a remarkable volte-face.
vol|uble /vɒ ljʊb ə l/ ADJ If you say that someone is voluble , you mean that they talk a lot with great energy and enthusiasm. [FORMAL ] □ She was voluble with excitement. □ Bert is a voluble, gregarious man. ● vol|ubly /vɒ ljʊbli/ ADV [ADV with v] □ In the next booth along, he could see an elderly lady, talking volubly.
vol|ume ◆◆◇ /vɒ ljuːm/ (volumes )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The volume of something is the amount of it that there is. □ [+ of ] Senior officials will be discussing how the volume of sales might be reduced. □ [+ of ] …the sheer volume of traffic and accidents.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The volume of an object is the amount of space that it contains or occupies. □ When egg whites are beaten they can rise to seven or eight times their original volume.
3 N‑COUNT A volume is a book. [FORMAL ] □ …a 125-page volume.
4 N‑COUNT A volume is one book in a series of books. □ [+ of ] …the first volume of his autobiography.
5 N‑COUNT A volume is a collection of several issues of a magazine, for example all the issues for one year. □ [+ of ] …bound volumes of the magazine.
6 N‑UNCOUNT The volume of a radio, television, or sound system is the loudness of the sound it produces. □ He turned down the volume. □ [+ of ] He came to complain about the volume of the music.
7 PHRASE If something such as an action speaks volumes about a person or thing, it gives you a lot of information about them. □ [+ about ] What you wear speaks volumes about you. SYNONYMS volume NOUN 1
amount: He needs that amount of money to survive.
quantity: …a small quantity of water.
size: Iraq itself has oil reserves second in size only to Saudi Arabia's.