VENTILATOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ventilator mean? 

• VENTILATOR (noun)
  The noun VENTILATOR has 2 senses:

1. a device (such as a fan) that introduces fresh air or expels foul air

2. a device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure

  Familiarity information: VENTILATOR used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VENTILATOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A device (such as a fan) that introduces fresh air or expels foul air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("ventilator" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Meronyms (parts of "ventilator"):

air cleaner; air filter (a filter that removes dust from the air that passes through it)

Holonyms ("ventilator" is a part of...):

ventilating system; ventilation; ventilation system (a mechanical system in a building that provides fresh air)

Derivation:

ventilate (expose to cool or cold air so as to cool or freshen)

ventilate (furnish with an opening to allow air to circulate or gas to escape)

ventilate (expose to the circulation of fresh air so as to retard spoilage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

breathing apparatus; breathing device; breathing machine; ventilator

Hypernyms ("ventilator" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ventilator"):

Aqua-Lung; aqualung; scuba (a device (trade name Aqua-Lung) that lets divers breathe under water; scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)

oxygen mask (a breathing device that is placed over the mouth and nose; supplies oxygen from an attached storage tank)

inhalator; respirator (a breathing device for administering long-term artificial respiration)

resuscitator (a breathing apparatus used for resuscitation by forcing oxygen into the lungs of a person who has undergone asphyxia or arrest of respiration)

snorkel (breathing device consisting of a bent tube fitting into a swimmer's mouth and extending above the surface; allows swimmer to breathe while face down in the water)

 Context examples 

It must always be in the same relative position to the ventilator and to the rope—or so we may call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

On the day prior to the first diuretic treatment (14 days of life), 56 percent of the diuretic group were sicker and on ventilator support, compared to 11 percent of the non-diuretic group.

(Diuretic therapy for extremely preterm infants does not alleviate respiratory problems, National Institutes of Health)

A filter designed to remove something from the expiration stream of a ventilator.

(Exhalation Filter Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

They range from small and simple, like a blood glucose meter, to large and complicated, like a ventilator.

(Medical Device Safety, Food and Drug Administration)

He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the rope and land on the bed.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With the result of driving it through the ventilator.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We must sit without light. He would see it through the ventilator.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to Stoke Moran.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For example, what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated with the outside air!

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)