iron lung

See synonyms for iron lung on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a chamberlike respirator, formerly used in the treatment of poliomyelitis, that encloses the whole body except the head and in which alternate pulsations of high and low pressure induce normal breathing movements or force air into and out of the lungs.

Origin of iron lung

1
First recorded in 1930–35

Words Nearby iron lung

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use iron lung in a sentence

  • The iron lung was back the next time he came to, and he was being tugged toward it.

    The Sky Is Falling | Lester del Rey
  • The man in doctor's robes shoved the iron lung aside violently and reached into his clothing.

    The Sky Is Falling | Lester del Rey

British Dictionary definitions for iron lung

iron lung

noun
  1. an airtight metal cylinder enclosing the entire body up to the neck and providing artificial respiration when the respiratory muscles are paralysed, as by poliomyelitis

  2. Irish informal a gas container used in dispensing beer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012