Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

2 PHRASAL VERB If you say that you can vouch for something, you mean that you have evidence from your own personal experience that it is true or correct. □ [V P n] He cannot vouch for the accuracy of the story.

vouch|er /vaʊ tʃə ^r / (vouchers ) N‑COUNT [n N ] A voucher is a ticket or piece of paper that can be used instead of money to pay for something. □  …gift vouchers.

vouch|safe /vaʊ tʃse I f/ (vouchsafes , vouchsafing , vouchsafed ) VERB If you are vouchsafed something or it is vouchsafed to you, you are given or granted it. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed n] As we approached the summit, we were vouchsafed a rare vision. □ [V n n] Eric gritted his teeth and vouchsafed them a few more drops of brandy. □ [V n] 'He drives like a madman,' was all the information he vouchsafed. [Also V n + to ]

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.