defibrillator
Americannoun
noun
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.
"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 board said there was no defibrillator or oxygen tank in case of an emergency.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
He has an internal defibrillator, has medication for his heart issue and tries to keep stress to a minimum.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Doctors told Ray J — real name William Ray Norwood Jr. — that he should prepare for the chance that he might need a pacemaker or defibrillator soon, the singer told the celebrity site.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026
“Come on, baby, don’t do this to me!” she shouts as another voice yells, “Place defibrillator pads!”
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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.
