I. ˈvälyəm also -l(ˌ)yüm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English volum, volume, from Middle French, from Latin volumen roll of writing, book, volume, from volvere to roll — more at voluble
1. : a written document (as on parchment) rolled up on a short staff for keeping and unrolled for reading : scroll
2.
a. : a collection of printed sheets bound together whether constituting a single work
a volume of memoirs
a part of a work
the first volume of a long biography
or a part in a related series of works
the volume of Victorian poetry in the series of English poetry
: book ; especially : the part of an extended work bound up together in one cover — compare brochure , pamphlet , tome
b. : an arbitrary number of issues of a periodical or the issues printed within a set time (as a year)
each issue of a magazine bears a volume number and an issue number which are assigned by the publisher and continue in regular sequence from Volume 1, No. 1. — Theory & Practice of Bookbinding
c. : album 1c
the Russian basso, has done a volume of lieder — Harper's
3.
a. : something that may be studied and interpreted like a book
the volume of nature
b. : something having a rounded or swelling form suggestive of a scroll : coil , convolution , turn
imbedded in the volumes of her hair — J.F.Cooper
feminine attributes of even greater value than the curves and volumes of the female body — Frank Budgen
4. : space occupied or enclosed by cubic units (as inches, feet, quarts, pecks, bushels, gallons) : compass , capacity
the volume of a container
specifically : the number of cubes each with an edge one unit long that can be fitted exactly into a solid (as some rectangular parallelepipeds) when it can be fitted in such a manner or a number that is equally acceptable as a measure of the solid (as a sphere or cone) when it cannot be fitted in this manner
5.
a. : amount , bulk , mass , quantity
as a composer he produced a considerable volume of church music — J.T.Howard
the volume of employment rose — Oscar Handlin
the flow of income to individuals was of record dollar volume — Milton Gilbert
a large volume of unclassified technological data has been published — R.A.Tybout
overwhelmed by the volume and violence of his dispatches — Pierre Frédérix
a sales volume of … a million dollars on his books — Current Biography
shelled clams are bought by the count or by volume — Marjorie M. Heseltine & Ula M. Dow
often : a considerable quantity
profits are made by selling volume at market price — Wall Street Journal
chance that the snow will fall in volume , and soon — J.M.Vander Voort
pouring forth a volume of amiable absurdities — Victoria Sackville-West
b. : the amount of a substance that occupies a particular volume
one volume of the material which has been collected is added to 9 volumes of normal saline — F.J.Hamilton
water on electrolysis gives 2 volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen
c. : the number of vehicles or pedestrians that pass a given point during a specified period of time
the volume of traffic
d.
(1) : a shaped or defined mass in a sculpture or an architectural structure
(2) : the representation of mass or three-dimensional shape in a drawing or painting
6.
a. : the degree of loudness or the intensity of a sound
by the last chorus the volume of sound was overwhelming — Agnes S. Turnbull
a desire for ever greater volume overtook musicians and instrument-makers — Robert Donington
also : loudness
a singer who could look pathetic and who had volume — Jo Sullivan
b. : the magnitude of an audio frequency wave in an electric circuit
7. : a characteristic of auditory sensations such that high tones seem small and sharp while low tones appear to fill much space
Synonyms: see size
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II. adjective
: of, dealing with, or involving large quantities
volume production of airplanes
volume sales of books
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to roll or rise in volume
her dress volumed — George Meredith
a drift of pale, voluming smoke arose from the sawdust pile — J.G.Cozzens
the blood cry went up and volumed in a discordant chorus — J.F.Dobie
transitive verb
1. : to collect or gather in or as if in a volume
2. : to send or give out in volume