defibrillator
Americannoun
-
defibrillators
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of defibrillator
First recorded in 1955–60; de- + fibrill(ation) + -ator
Explanation
A defibrillator is a machine that uses a current of electricity to restart a heart that is beating erratically. Doctors and EMTs use a defibrillator when they perform CPR on a patient. Defibrillator comes from defibrillation, literally "stopping fibrillation," or "stopping the heart from beating in an irregular way." The first defibrillators were demonstrated on dogs in 1899, but it wasn't until the 1950s that this method was used externally on humans, rather than during surgery. Even though movies often show doctors starting a stopped heart with a defibrillator, this isn't actually possible. What defibrillators do is closer to stopping an irregular heartbeat and shocking it into a normal rhythm.
Vocabulary lists containing defibrillator
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She reportedly lost her pulse and was revived with CPR and a defibrillator.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The morning’s jolt of excitement hit “The Pitt” team with the strength of a defibrillator to the chest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
This time, the defibrillator was inside his body - implanted during an operation several days after his previous collapse.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
"There was no defibrillator, no oxygen, nothing. In the room, there was nothing to suggest that the patient was in hospital at home," Pinto said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
The electricity from the defibrillator starts it back up.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
The sleek, futuristic-looking, white and yellow vehicle boasts solar panels on the roof that power its engine but also medical devices from x-ray machines to defibrillators.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
She is the master of an exclamation and can zero in on her complaints on a topic as wide as all men or as narrow as the decreased use of defibrillators in media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
"It helps me manage that patient better, know who's at greatest risk, and if we think the risk is really high, we'll recommend defibrillators for patients like that," McNally said.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025
Concerns have been raised about the number of publicly accessible defibrillators that have either been damaged or stolen in Northern Ireland in recent years.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
Johnny Finch, from Cookstown, owns a number of shops which have defibrillators that can be accessed without a code.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
