generator

American  

[jen-uh-rey-ter] / ˈdʒɛn əˌreɪ tər /

noun

• generators
  plural

1. a machine that converts one form of energy into another, especially mechanical energy into electrical energy, as a dynamo, or electrical energy into sound, as an acoustic generator.

2. a person or thing that generates.

3. Chemistry. an apparatus for producing a gas or vapor.

4. Mathematics.

   1. an element or one of a set of elements from which a specified mathematical object can be formed by applying certain operations.

   2. an element, as a line, that generates a figure.

5. Computers. a program that produces a particular type of output on demand, as random numbers, an application program, or a report.

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generator British  

/ ˈdʒɛnəˌreɪtə /

noun

1. physics

   1. any device for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy by electromagnetic induction, esp a large one as in a power station

   2. a device for producing a voltage electrostatically

   3. any device that converts one form of energy into another form

      an acoustic generator

2. an apparatus for producing a gas

3. a person or thing that generates

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generator Cultural  

1. A device that produces electric current (see also current), usually by rotating a conductor in a magnetic field, thereby generating current through electromagnetic induction. This sort of generator produces an alternating current (AC).

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• generators
  plural

Etymology

Origin of generator

1640–50; < Latin generātor producer, equivalent to generā ( re ) ( see generate) + -tor -tor

Explanation

If your neighborhood loses power, it’s good to have your own generator so you can keep the lights on. A generator is machine that produces power. Generator can also mean someone who creates something. If you come up with lots of ideas, you are an idea generator. Not so helpful during a blackout unless you had the idea to get a portable generator. This kind of generator makes electricity out of some other type of power (like wind power) or fuel (like propane or gas). In Latin, generator means "begetter or producer," from generare, "to bring forth."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

generator generators

He had been using a generator due to the power outage, public broadcaster NHK reported.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The end credits exclusively feature a list of apps used in the making of this “film,” including video generator Runway and music imitator Suno.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

Engine maker Cummins CMI -0.06%decrease; down pointing triangle is also leaning in to its existing generator business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Ramirez knows from experience that if you use a generator, “it will break down at the worst time.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

The gasoline generator that lights up the palace makes such a horrid bellowing, day and night, that all the monkeys have fled the vicinity.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Neighbours have complained about fires and for months there was a constant hum from electrical generators.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Power-hungry data-center developers have turned Caterpillar’s once-prosaic business of electricity generators into the equipment maker’s leading source of profit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

This dynamic assured that existing generators could reap higher profits without risking capital, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, rely on radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which produce electricity from heat released by decaying plutonium.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

The place had an industrial look to it; oil-covered motors and generators stood around it like sentinels, and train tracks led into it and out.

From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz