to change or cause to change into vapour or into the gaseous state to evaporate or disappear or cause to evaporate or disappear, esp suddenly to destroy or be destroyed by being turned into a gas as a result of extreme heat (for example, generated by a nuclear explosion)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
va•por•ize /ˈveɪpəˌraɪz/USA pronunciation
v., -ized, -iz•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Physicsto (cause to) change into vapor: [no object]At what temperature does alcohol vaporize?[~ + object]The heat from a hydrogen bomb blast would vaporize entire lakes.
va•por•ize
(vā′pə rīz′),USA pronunciation v., -ized, -iz•ing.
v.t.
v.i.
va′por•iz′a•ble, adj.
v.t.
- Physicsto cause to change into vapor.
v.i.
- Physicsto become converted into vapor.
- to indulge in boastful talk;
speak braggingly.
- vapor + -ize 1625–35
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