[vat] 
,noun, verb, vat⋅ted, vat⋅ting.| 1. | a large container, as a tub or tank, used for storing or holding liquids: a wine vat. |
| 2. | Chemistry.
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| 3. | to put into or treat in a vat. |
| an excise tax based on the value added to a product at each stage of production or distribution: value added is arrived at by subtracting from the total value of the product at the end of each production or distibution stage the value of the goods bought at its inception. Abbreviation: VAT |
| value-added tax n. Abbr. VAT A tax on the estimated market value added to a product or material at each stage of its manufacture or distribution, ultimately passed on to the consumer. |
| vat (vāt) n. A large vessel, such as a tub, cistern, or barrel, used to hold or store liquids. tr.v. vat·ted, vat·ting, vats To put into or treat in a vat. [Middle English, variant of fat, from Old English fæt.] |
| VAT abbr. value-added tax |
A tax on the value added to a product at each stage of its production, from raw materials to finished product. Widely employed in Europe, value-added taxes have the advantage (for governments) of raising revenue “invisibly,” that is, without appearing as taxes on the bill paid by the consumer.
| VAT value-added tax |