visible particles of moisture floating in the air, as fog, mist, or steam
b.
any cloudy or imperceptible exhalation, as smoke or noxious fumes
2.
the gaseous form of any substance which is usually a liquid or a solid
3.
a.
any substance vaporized for use in machinery, medical therapy, etc.
b.
a mixture of such a vaporized substance with air, as the explosive mixture in an automotive cylinder
4. Rare
anything insubstantial or worthless
5. [pl.]; Archaic
a.
exhalations from the stomach believed to be harmful to one's health
b.
hypochondria or depressed spirits
often with the
verb intransitive
6.
to rise or pass off in the form of vapor; evaporate
7.
to give off vapor
8.
to indulge in idle talk or boasting
verb transitive
9.
vaporize
Derived forms
vaporer (ˈvaporer)
noun
vaporlike (ˈvaporˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
ME vapour < Anglo-Fr < MFr vapeur < L vapor < IE base *wep-, to give off vapors
Examples of 'vapor' in a sentence
vapor
A high plane left a figure eight of white vapor trail across the sky.
Peter Robinson AFTERMATH (2001)
Yes, there it was, crawling across the pristine blue, leaving a trail of vapor tinted amber by the setting sun.
Clive Barker COLDHEART CANYON (2001)
The liquid changed to vapor; Ushiba felt himself rising from the floor of his office.
Lustbader, Eric FLOATING CITY (2001)
All related terms of 'vapor'
vapour
Vapour consists of tiny drops of water or other liquids in the air, which appear as mist .
vapor cloud
A vapor cloud is vapor which has gathered in one place.
vapor load
A vapor load is the amount of a vapor which goes into or comes out of a stage in a distillation process.
vapor lock
a blocking or slowing of the flow of liquid fuel to an internal-combustion engine , caused by excessive heat which vaporizes fuel in the fuel line, fuel pump , etc.
vapor phase
In its vapor phase a substance can be condensed to a liquid or to a solid by increasing its pressure without reducing the temperature .
vapor trail
→ contrail
water vapor
water in the form of a gas; steam
vapor pressure
the pressure of a vapor in equilibrium with its liquid or solid form
vapor channeling
Vapor channeling exists when vapor flow is distributed in an unequal way in a distillation vessel or stage .
vapor combustion
Vapor combustion is a closed burn system used for treating liquid waste which contains volatile organic compounds.
mercury-vapor lamp
a discharge lamp containing mercury vapor
sodium-vapor lamp
a discharge lamp used for street lighting, fitted with two electrodes and filled with neon and sodium vapor, giving off a soft, yellow light
vapor recovery unit
A vapor recovery unit is a system for recovering vapors from inside sealed crude oil or condensate tanks , with a scrubber (= a device for removing unwanted substances) and compressor (= a device that raises pressure).
BLEVE
A BLEVE is an explosion caused by a liquid which is boiling and continuing to produce a flammable vapor.