vo|lu|mi|nous /vəluː m I nəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is voluminous is very large or contains a lot of things. [FORMAL ] □ The FBI kept a voluminous file on Pablo Picasso.
vol|un|tary ◆◇◇ /vɒ ləntri, [AM ] -teri/
1 ADJ Voluntary actions or activities are done because someone chooses to do them and not because they have been forced to do them. □ Attention is drawn to a special voluntary course in Commercial French. □ The scheme, due to begin next month, will be voluntary. ● vol|un|tar|ily /vɒ ləntrəli, [AM ] -ter I li/ ADV [ADV with v] □ I would only leave here voluntarily if there was a big chance to work abroad.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Voluntary work is done by people who are not paid for it, but who do it because they want to do it. □ He'd been working at the local hostel on a voluntary basis.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A voluntary worker is someone who does work without being paid for it, because they want to do it. □ Apna Arts has achieved more with voluntary workers in three years than most organisations with paid workers have achieved in ten. □ We depend solely upon our voluntary helpers.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] A voluntary organization is controlled and organized by the people who have chosen to work for it, often without being paid, rather than receiving help or money from the government. □ Some local authorities and voluntary organizations also run workshops for people with disabilities. SYNONYMS voluntary ADJ 1
optionaclass="underline" A holiday isn't an optional extra. In this stressful, frantic world it's a must.
discretionary: Magistrates were given wider discretionary powers.
vol|un|teer ◆◇◇ /vɒ lənt I ə r / (volunteers , volunteering , volunteered )
1 N‑COUNT A volunteer is someone who does work without being paid for it, because they want to do it. □ She now helps in a local school as a volunteer three days a week. □ Mike was a member of the local volunteer fire brigade.
2 N‑COUNT A volunteer is someone who offers to do a particular task or job without being forced to do it. □ Right. What I want now is two volunteers to come down to the front.
3 VERB If you volunteer to do something, you offer to do it without being forced to do it. □ [V to-inf] Aunt Mary volunteered to clean up the kitchen. □ [V + for ] He volunteered for the army in 1939. □ [V + as ] She volunteered as a nurse in a soldiers' rest-home. □ [V n] He's volunteered his services as a chauffeur. [Also V ]
4 VERB If you volunteer information, you tell someone something without being asked. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] The room was quiet; no one volunteered any further information. □ [V with quote] 'They were both great supporters of Franco,' Ryle volunteered. □ [V that] The next week, Phillida volunteered that they were getting on better.
5 N‑COUNT A volunteer is someone who chooses to join the armed forces, especially during a war, as opposed to someone who is forced to join by law. □ They fought as volunteers with the rebels.
vo|lup|tu|ous /vəlʌ ptʃuəs/ ADJ If you describe a woman as voluptuous , you mean that she has large breasts and hips and is considered attractive in a sexual way. □ …a voluptuous, well-rounded lady with glossy black hair.
vom|it /vɒ m I t/ (vomits , vomiting , vomited )
1 VERB If you vomit , food and drink comes back up from your stomach and out through your mouth. □ [V ] Any product made from cow's milk made him vomit. □ [V n] She began to vomit blood a few days before she died. □ [V n with up ] He vomited up all he had just eaten. ● vom|it|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting may accompany migraine.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Vomit is partly digested food and drink that has come back up from someone's stomach and out through their mouth.
voo|doo /vuː duː/ N‑UNCOUNT Voodoo is a form of religion involving magic which is practised by some people in the West Indies, especially Haiti.
vo|ra|cious /vəre I ʃəs, [AM ] vɔːr-/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a person, or their appetite for something, as voracious , you mean that they want a lot of something. [LITERARY ] □ Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector. □ …the band's voracious appetite for fun. ● vo|ra|cious|ly ADV □ He read voraciously.
vor|tex /vɔː r teks/ (vortexes or vortices /vɔː r t I siːz/)
1 N‑COUNT A vortex is a mass of wind or water that spins round so fast that it pulls objects down into its empty centre. □ The polar vortex is a system of wintertime winds.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you refer to a situation as a vortex , you feel that you are being forced into it without being able to prevent it. □ This decision propelled her into a vortex from which there seemed no escape.
vote ◆◆◆ /voʊ t/ (votes , voting , voted )
1 N‑COUNT A vote is a choice made by a particular person or group in a meeting or an election. □ He walked to the local polling centre to cast his vote. □ The government got a massive majority–well over 400 votes. □ Mr Reynolds was re-elected by 102 votes to 60.
2 N‑COUNT A vote is an occasion when a group of people make a decision by each person indicating his or her choice. The choice that most people support is accepted by the group. □ [+ on ] Why do you think we should have a vote on that? □ They took a vote and decided not to do it.
3 N‑SING The vote is the total number of votes or voters in an election, or the number of votes received or cast by a particular group. □ Opposition parties won about fifty-five per cent of the vote.