vapor

UK/ˈveɪpə//ˈveɪpɚ/

vapor noun: cloudy diffused matter such as mist, steam or fumes suspended in the air.

Noun

vapor (countable and uncountable, plural vapors)

(US) Cloudy diffused matter such as mist, steam or fumes suspended in the air.
- A mild vapour is thrown out, and not a hot steam; the invention appears to control the amount of the vapor, and and ^([sic]) even the force of the fire which produces it.1847, editorial staff, “Evaporation Grate”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 68
- The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom.[…]Drifts of yellow vapour, fiery, parching, stinging, filled the air.1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid
(US) The gaseous state of a substance that is normally a solid or liquid.
- Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term...2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
(US, idiomatic) Something insubstantial, fleeting, or transitory; unreal fancy; vain imagination; idle talk; boasting.
- For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, James 4:14
- I am at this present very sick of my little vapour of fame.1781, Horace Walpole, " "
(US, dated) Any medicinal agent designed for administration in the form of inhaled vapour.
- Sulphurous fumes have also been recommended, as well as diffusing a variety of vapors in the apartment of the patient; on their beneficial or injurious effects we are unable to speak.1836, Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis, Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, Charles Cowan, Pathological Researches on Phthisis, page 287
- Hence the vapor, so useful in expanding the compressed tissues and enabling the air to permeate and expand the contracted parenchyma in consumption, causes a sensation of great fatigue in asthma.1854 November, Samuel A. Cartwright, “The Case of a Lady in a sugar-house, with Aphonic, Haemorrhagic, Tubercular Phthisis in the Softening State”, in Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, volume 51...
(US, archaic, in plural) Hypochondria; melancholy; the blues; hysteria, or other nervous disorder.
- Jan 13, 1732, John Arbuthnot, letter to Jonathan Swift
  He talks me into a fit of vapours twice or thrice a week.
- She made several gulps and controlled her breath. She released her grip on Podson and stared at him without recognition. Podson went on patting her reassuringly, relieved from administering first aid to an attack of the vapours.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 188
(US, obsolete) Wind; flatulence.
- The surcharge of the stomack from a gross vapour, and from the poise of some outward weight, are alike1605, Francis Bacon, “(please specify |book=1 or 2)”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas...

Verb

vapor (third-person singular simple present vapors, present participle vaporing, simple past and past participle vapored)

(US, intransitive) To become vapor; to be emitted or circulated as vapor.
(US, transitive) To turn into vapor.
- to vapor away a heated fluid
- He'd […]laugh to see one throw his heart away, / Another, sighing, vapour forth his soul.1617, Ben Jonson, Lovers Made Men
(US) To emit vapor or fumes.
- Running waters vapour not so much as standing waters.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
(US, intransitive) To use insubstantial language; to boast or bluster.
- He vapoured, and fretted, and fumed, and trotted up and down, and tried to make himself pleasing in Miss Hollis's big, quiet, grey eyes, and failed.1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Bisara of Pooree”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2005, page 172
- then the Major gave us a graphic account of a struggle he had with a wounded bear. I privately wished that the bears would win sometimes on these occasions; at least they wouldn't go vapouring about it afterwards.1904, “Saki”, ‘Reginald's Christmas Revel’, Reginald
(US, transitive) To give (someone) the vapors; to depress, to bore.
- “I only mean,” cried she, giddily, “that he might have some place a little more pleasant to live in, for really that old moat and draw-bridge are enough to vapour him to death […].”1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.vi.9

vapor meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

vapor in Hindi

cloudy diffused matter — see also mist, steam, fume: भाप bhāp, भभका bhabhkā
the gaseous state of a substance that is normally a solid or liquid: वाष्प vāṣp, भाप bhāp, उनाह unāh

vapor in Marathi

the gaseous state of a substance that is normally a solid or liquid: बाष्प bāṣpa, वाफ vāph

vapor in Urdu

the gaseous state of a substance that is normally a solid or liquid: بھاپ bhāp, اناہ unāh

vapor in Bengali

the gaseous state of a substance that is normally a solid or liquid: বাষ্প baśpo, ভাপ bhap

More languagesFewer languages

vapor in Odia: ବାଷ୍ପ bāṣpa
vapor in Sanskrit: वाष्प vāṣpa, नभस् nabhas
vapor in Nepali: बाफ bāph
vapor in Tagalog: ulop, singaw
vapor in Arabic: بُخَار buḵār
vapor in Malay: wap
vapor in Indonesian: uap
vapor in Persian: بخار boxâr
vapor in Thai: ไอ ai, ไอน้ำ ai-náam
vapor in Vietnamese: hơi
vapor in Myanmar: အခိုးအငွေ့ a.hkui:a.ngwe., အခိုး a.hkui:

Examples of vapor in a sentence

Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident.2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
The press operates as a safety-valve for the vapor of popular ebullision.1822, Charles Perkins, An Oration, page 19:
This expression gives a reason for that, to wit, that it is a mere vapor.1875, Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the General Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude, page 80:
The physician can now prescribe medicinal vapors to be dropped on some cotton placed inside the inhaler.1944, Quarterly Review of Otorhinolaryngology and Broncho-esophagology, page 68:

All 40 example sentences with vapor

Forms of vapor

Noun
plural	vapors
alternative Commonwealth	vapour
Verb
third-person singular present	vapors
present participle	vaporing
past participle	vapored
past	vapored

Plural of vapor: vapors

Origin of vapor

From Middle English vapour, from Anglo-Norman vapour, Old French vapor, from Latin vapor (“steam, heat”).

Phrases with vapor

Words that rhyme with vapor

3 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about vapor

What does vapor mean?: Vapor means cloudy diffused matter such as mist, steam or fumes suspended in the air.
What is vapor in Hindi?: Vapor in Hindi is भाप (bhāp), भभका (bhabhkā), वाष्प (vāṣp). See Vapor meaning in Hindi.
How do you use vapor in a sentence?: Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident.
What part of speech is vapor?: Vapor can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce vapor?: Vapor is pronounced /ˈveɪpə/ (UK).
What is the plural of vapor?: The plural of vapor is vapors.

Words near vapor in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: vapor (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-vapour.ogg.

Cite this entry: “vapor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/vapor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.