insulator

[in-suh-ley-ter, ins-yuh-]

noun

1. Electricity.

   1. a material of such low conductivity that the flow of current through it is negligible.

   2. insulating material, often glass or porcelain, in a unit form designed so as to support a charged conductor and electrically isolate it.

2. a person or thing that insulates.

insulator

/ ˈɪnsjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. any material or device that insulates, esp a material with a very low electrical conductivity or thermal conductivity or something made of such a material

insulator

1. A material or an object that does not easily allow heat, electricity, light, or sound to pass through it. Air, cloth and rubber are good electrical insulators; feathers and wool make good thermal insulators.

2. Compare conductor

insulator

1. A material that does not easily transmit energy, such as electric current (see also current) or heat. Materials such as wood, plastic, and ceramics are insulators. Fiberglass is an example of a heat insulator. (Compare conductor.)

Other Word Forms

• noninsulator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of insulator¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; insulate + -or ²

Example Sentences

A typical double-hung window—even a double-glazed one—is so leaky, and such a poor insulator, that if your home were a bucket, your windows are effectively holes in it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Instead of acting like a metal, it behaves as an insulator.

Read more on Science Daily

The new duality, Li says, involves materials that can behave as both conductors and insulators.

Read more on Science Daily

Germanium and silicon, both group IV elements with diamond-like crystal structures, occupy a unique position between metals and insulators.

Read more on Science Daily

That's because the vest fitted with the cooling system is an insulator and the liquid can end up hotter than the ambient temperature because of the temperature of the cars.

Read more on BBC