generator

American  

[jen-uh-rey-ter] / ˈdʒɛn əˌreɪ tər /

noun

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.

---

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

---

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).

---

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

An unclaimed drone struck an electrical generator on Sunday near the Arab world's first nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries nor radiation leak.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

And the answers may surprise you - a Van de Graaff generator and a theremin.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

Voyager 1, like its twin Voyager 2, is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that converts heat from decaying plutonium into electricity.

From Science Daily • May 4, 2026

The Palo Alto company wants to reinvent the battery-driven bicycle using a powerful generator and software to change the look, feel and capabilities of two-wheelers.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

He’s lying down on the ground, deep into our little fission generator, the one outside the front of the house, fixing whatever’s gone wrong with it this month.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness