radiator

American  

[rey-dee-ey-ter] / ˈreɪ diˌeɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that radiates.

2. any of various heating devices, as a series or coil of pipes through which steam or hot water passes.

3. a device constructed from thin-walled tubes and metal fins, used for cooling circulating water, as in an automobile engine.

4. Radio. a transmitting antenna.

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radiator British  

/ ˈreɪdɪˌeɪtə /

noun

1. a device for heating a room, building, etc, consisting of a series of pipes through which hot water or steam passes

2. a device for cooling an internal-combustion engine, consisting of thin-walled tubes through which water passes. Heat is transferred from the water through the walls of the tubes to the airstream, which is created either by the motion of the vehicle or by a fan

3. an electric fire

4. electronics the part of an aerial or transmission line that radiates electromagnetic waves

5. an electric space heater

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radiator Scientific  

/ rā′dē-ā′tər /

1. A body that emits radiation. Radiators are commonly designed to transfer heat energy from one place to another, as in an automobile, in which the radiator cools the engine by transferring heat energy from the engine to the air, or in buildings, where radiators transfer heat energy from a furnace to the air and objects in the surrounding room.

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Etymology

Origin of radiator

First recorded in 1830–40; radiate + -or ²

Example Sentences

‘I’m not made of money’: My heating engineer didn’t fix my radiators on his first visit.

From MarketWatch

It’s already quite hot inside my shoebox apartment as the radiators clank away, drowning out my upstairs neighbor’s heavy footsteps with their cacophonous symphony.

From Salon

My heating engineer came to fix my radiators because they kept shutting off and the hot water was intermittent.

From MarketWatch

He had poked that under the radiator in Dad's study.

From Literature

The strikes, which injured at least 12 people, left authorities in several cities scrambling to drain water from radiators in some buildings to prevent damage to heating systems.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• boiler
• fastball
• furnace
• oven
• stove