vow /vaʊ / (vows , vowing , vowed )
1 VERB If you vow to do something, you make a serious promise or decision that you will do it. □ [V to-inf] While many models vow to go back to college, few do. □ [V that] I solemnly vowed that someday I would return to live in Europe. □ [V with quote] 'I'll kill him,' she vowed. □ [V n] They have vowed a quick and decisive response.
2 N‑COUNT [oft N to-inf, N that] A vow is a serious promise or decision to do a particular thing. □ I made a silent vow to be more careful in the future.
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Vows are a particular set of serious promises, such as the promises two people make when they are getting married. □ [+ of ] He had broken his vow of poverty.
vow|el /vaʊ əl/ (vowels ) N‑COUNT A vowel is a sound such as the ones represented in writing by the letters 'a', 'e' 'i', 'o' and 'u', which you pronounce with your mouth open, allowing the air to flow through it. Compare consonant . □ The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.
vox pop /vɒ ks pɒ p/ (vox pops ) N‑VAR In a radio or television programme, a vox pop is an item consisting of a series of short interviews with ordinary members of the public. [mainly BRIT , JOURNALISM ]
voy|age /vɔ I I dʒ/ (voyages , voyaging , voyaged )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A voyage is a long journey on a ship or in a spacecraft. □ …the first space shuttle voyage to be devoted entirely to astronomy.
2 VERB To voyage to a place means to travel there, especially by sea. [FORMAL ] □ [V prep/adv] They voyaged across the North Sea in longboats. ● voy|ag|er (voyagers ) N‑COUNT □ [+ to ] …fifteenth-century voyagers to the lands now called America and the Caribbean. ● voy|ag|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Our boat would not have been appropriate for ocean voyaging.
vo|yeur /vwa I ɜː r , [AM ] vɔ I -/ (voyeurs )
1 N‑COUNT A voyeur is someone who gets sexual pleasure from secretly watching other people having sex or taking their clothes off.
2 N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a voyeur , you disapprove of them because you think they enjoy watching other people's suffering or problems. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The media has made unfeeling voyeurs of all of us.
vo|yeur|ism /vwa I ər I zəm, [AM ] vɔ I ɜː r-/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Voyeurism is the practice of getting sexual pleasure by secretly watching other people having sex or taking their clothes off.
2 N‑UNCOUNT If you describe someone's behaviour as voyeurism , you disapprove of them because you think they enjoy watching other people's suffering or problems. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The BBC yesterday defended a series featuring dramatic crime reconstructions against suggestions of voyeurism.
vo|yeur|is|tic /vwa I ər I st I k, [AM ] vɔ I -/
1 ADJ Voyeuristic behaviour involves getting sexual pleasure from secretly watching other people having sex or taking their clothes off.
2 ADJ If you describe someone's behaviour as voyeuristic , you disapprove of them because you think they enjoy watching other people's suffering or problems. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ We as a society are growing more commercial and voyeuristic all the time.
vs. vs. is a written abbreviation for versus . □ …England vs. Brazil in the U.S. Cup.
V -sign (V-signs )
1 N‑COUNT In Britain, a V-sign is a rude gesture which is made by sticking up your first two fingers in a V shape, with the palm of your hand facing you.
2 N‑COUNT A V-sign is a gesture which is made by sticking up your first two fingers in a V shape, with the palm of your hand facing away from you, as a sign of victory.
VSO /viː es oʊ / N‑PROPER VSO is a British organization that sends skilled people to developing countries to work on projects that help the local community. VSO is an abbreviation for 'Voluntary Service Overseas'.
vul|gar /vʌ lgə r /
1 ADJ If you describe something as vulgar , you think it is in bad taste or of poor artistic quality. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The film is tasteless, vulgar and even badly shot. ● vul|gar|ity /vʌlgæ r I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] I hate the vulgarity of this room.
2 ADJ If you describe pictures, gestures, or remarks as vulgar , you dislike them because they refer to sex or parts of the body in a rude way that you find unpleasant. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The women laughed coarsely at some vulgar jokes. □ The lyrics were vulgar. ● vul|gar|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ There's a good deal of vulgarity.
3 ADJ If you describe a person or their behaviour as vulgar , you mean that they lack taste or behave rudely. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He was a vulgar old man, but he never swore in front of a woman. ● vul|gar|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ It's his vulgarity that I can't take.
vul|ner|able ◆◇◇ /vʌ lnərəb ə l/
1 ADJ Someone who is vulnerable is weak and without protection, with the result that they are easily hurt physically or emotionally. □ Old people are particularly vulnerable members of our society. ● vul|ner|abil|ity /vʌ lnərəb I l I ti/ (vulnerabilities ) N‑VAR □ David accepts his own vulnerability.
2 ADJ If a person, animal, or plant is vulnerable to a disease, they are more likely to get it than other people, animals, or plants. □ [+ to ] People with high blood pressure are especially vulnerable to diabetes. ● vul|ner|abil|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ to ] Taking long-term courses of certain medicines may increase vulnerability to infection.