vamps

Noun (1)

vamp (plural vamps)

1. The top part of a boot or shoe, above the sole and welt and in front of the ankle seam, that covers the instep and toes; the front part of an upper; the analogous part of a stocking.
   • The flow of water was in my ears, and in my eyes a hazy spreading, and upon my brain a closure, as a cobbler sews a vamp up.1869, R[ichard] D[oddridge] Blackmore, chapter XX, in Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor. […], volume II, London: Sampson Low, Son, & Marston, […], →OCLC, pages 279–280
2. Something added to give an old thing a new appearance.

   Synonyms:

   patch

3. Something patched up, pieced together, improvised, or refurbished.
4. A repeated and often improvised accompaniment, usually consisting of one or two measures, often a single chord or simple chord progression, repeated as necessary, for example, to accommodate dialogue or to anticipate the entrance of a soloist.
   • I would go even further and say that, once [Stephen] Sondheim had ceased to compose classical music with its nonspecific accompaniments, he began to explore how effectively a vamp can flesh out a character for the stage. He had little need to write distinctive vamps for his Williams [College]...2005, Steve Swayne, “Pulling It Apart”, in How Sondheim Found His Sound, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 116
5. (broadly) An activity or speech intended to fill or stall for time.

Noun (2)

vamp (plural vamps)

1. A flirtatious, seductive woman, especially one who exploits men by using their sexual desire for her.
   • It is the vamp who has a sense of humor that can really hold a man. She laughs at him, even as she is seeking to allure him—and he adores it.1919 June, Renee Van Dyke, “Interesting Paragraphs about the Players”, in Geo[rge] M. Downs, Jr., editor, The Photo-play World, volume 2, number 8, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Downs Publishing Company...

   Synonyms:

   femme fatale

See all 19 meanings of vamp