aspirator

American  

[as-puh-rey-ter] / ˈæs pəˌreɪ tər /

noun

1. an apparatus or device employing suction.

2. Hydraulics. a suction pump that operates by the pressure differential created by the high-speed flow of a fluid past an intake orifice.

3. Medicine/Medical. an instrument for removing body fluids by suction.

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aspirator British  

/ ˈæspɪˌreɪtə /

noun

1. a device employing suction, such as a jet pump or one for removing fluids from a body cavity

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Etymology

Origin of aspirator

First recorded in 1860–65; aspirate + -or ²

Example Sentences

Eddie Kaspbrak: Eddie’s mother is obsessed with his health and convinces him that he has asthma that needs to be treated with an aspirator.

From The Verge • Sep. 1, 2017

She told the officers that Roderius “had a little cold,” so she’d stopped by Crawford’s house the day before to drop off a nasal aspirator.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 29, 2015

The device hanging from my lips was an aspirator.

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2014

A centrifuge is often used to separate the heavy kernels from the light hulls, which an aspirator may suck upward and out of the heap.

From Slate • Jun. 25, 2013

Protruding from the elastic pocket on the outside of one arm was an aspirator, along with two or three pill bottles.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides