elevator

American  

[el-uh-vey-ter] / ˈɛl əˌveɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that elevates or raises.

2. a moving platform or cage for carrying passengers or freight from one level to another, as in a building.

3. any of various mechanical devices for raising objects or materials.

4. a building in which grain is stored and handled by means of mechanical elevator and conveyor devices.

5. Aeronautics. a hinged horizontal surface on an airplane or the like, used to control the longitudinal inclination and usually placed at the tail end of the fuselage.

6. elevator shoe.

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elevator British  

/ ˈɛlɪˌveɪtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that elevates

2. a mechanical hoist for raising something, esp grain or coal, often consisting of a chain of scoops linked together on a conveyor belt

3. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): lift.  a platform, compartment, or cage raised or lowered in a vertical shaft to transport persons or goods in a building

4. a large granary equipped with an elevator and, usually, facilities for cleaning and grading the grain

5. any muscle that raises a part of the body

6. a surgical instrument for lifting a part of the body

7. a control surface on the tailplane of an aircraft, for making it climb or descend

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Etymology

Origin of elevator

1640–50; < Late Latin ēlevātor, equivalent to ēlevā ( re ) ( elevate ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Today, innovation in the elevator industry continues, quietly powering a global business that generates more than $80 billion a year and moves hundreds of millions of passengers through buildings every day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Steel cables limit how far one elevator can safely travel, forcing riders to transfer between elevator banks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Today, elevator engineers are working to overcome numerous other obstacles as cities of the future take shape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Introduced widely in the 1900s, counterweights reduced the energy needed to move an elevator—a principle that remains at the heart of most elevator systems.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Straight ahead of us at the end of the corridor was a thing called an elevator.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• escalator