In a vacuum

In a vacuum is an idiom. We will examine the meaning of the common saying in a vacuum, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences.

In a vacuum describes something that stands alone, something cut off from other influences, something without links to the outside world. Something or someone that exists in a vacuum is totally isolated. Often, the term is used in the negative, to admonish someone that his or her actions affect others. The expression in a vacuum came into the scientific literature with the demonstration of the ability to create a vacuum in the mid-1600s; before that, the concept of a vacuum was only philosophical. In a vacuum had a literal meaning for hundreds of years before it also took on a figurative meaning as an idiom. The word vacuum is a Latin word, which means empty space or a void.

Examples

Though this could reshape the greater way we do business and have significant dividends for personal health, it should be noted that such digitalization did not occur in a vacuum. (Big Easy Magazine)

After showing a brief timeline of the history of Blacks in the LDS Church, Williams stated that the growth of the church didn’t happen in a vacuum.  (Daily Herald)

While the courts have the mandate to ensure that the Constitution is not circumvented, they do not operate in a vacuum and should therefore not be a hindrance to Kenyans’ will to exercise their sovereignty. (The Star Kenya)