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definitions

elevator

[ el-uh-vey-ter ]
/ ˈɛl əˌveɪ tər /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR elevator ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that elevates or raises.
a moving platform or cage for carrying passengers or freight from one level to another, as in a building.
any of various mechanical devices for raising objects or materials.
a building in which grain is stored and handled by means of mechanical elevator and conveyor devices.
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.
elevator shoe.

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RELATED WORDS

escalator, hoist, dumbwaiter, conveyor

Nearby words

  1. elevate,
  2. elevated,
  3. elevated railroad,
  4. elevated railway,
  5. elevation,
  6. elevator muscle of angle of mouth,
  7. elevator muscle of anus,
  8. elevator muscle of prostate,
  9. elevator muscle of scapula,
  10. elevator muscle of soft palate

Origin of elevator

1640–50; < Late Latin ēlevātor, equivalent to ēlevā(re) (see elevate) + -tor -tor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for elevator

British Dictionary definitions for elevator

elevator

/ (ˈɛlɪˌveɪtə) /

noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for elevator

elevator

n.

1640s, originally of muscles, from Latin elevator, agent noun from past participle stem of elevare (see elevate). As a name for a mechanical lift (originally for grain) attested from 1787. Elevator music is attested by 1963. Elevator as a lift for shoes is from 1940.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for elevator

elevator

[ ĕl′ə-vā′tər ]

n.

A surgical instrument used to elevate tissues or to raise a sunken part, such as a depressed fragment of bone.
A dental instrument used to remove teeth or parts of teeth that cannot be gripped with a forceps or to loosen teeth and roots before using forceps.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.