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reflector

American  
[ri-flek-ter] / rɪˈflɛk tər /

noun

  • reflectors
    plural
  1. a person or thing that reflects.

  2. a body, surface, or device that reflects light, heat, sound, or the like.

  3. telescope1

  4. a substance, as graphite or heavy water, used to prevent the escape of neutrons from the core of a nuclear reactor.


reflector British  
/ rɪˈflɛktə /

noun

  1. a person or thing that reflects

  2. a surface or object that reflects light, sound, heat, etc

  3. a small translucent red disc, strip, etc, with a reflecting backing on the rear of a road vehicle, which reflects the light of the headlights of a following vehicle

  4. another name for reflecting telescope

  5. part of an aerial placed so as to increase the forward radiation of the radiator and decrease the backward radiation

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of reflector

First recorded in 1655–65; reflect + -or 2


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.

See Examples For:

As night fell on Tucson, a man in a reflector jacket parked his truck on the same hill where Williams held court, and deployed a tripod.

From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026

These waves travel forward, strike a reflector, and then move backward, much like light reflecting between mirrors in a laser.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026

Consider fitting radiator reflector panels, although that may be a longer-term job.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025

Using a reflector and colored gels, I captured Storm in front of the textured paper, creating this image.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

At a wonderful store in Stonington, half hardware store and half ship’s chandler, I bought a kerosene lamp with a tin reflector for Rocinante.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

The team engineered a series of these 3D reflectors strung together to form a "tunable transmission line."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024

Well, yeah, he was orange, but he walked around with one of those silver reflectors all the time, right until he was old.

From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2023

It collects the light off of 70,000 reflectors to boil salt to run an electricity-generating turbine.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2023

After the October attack, Moscow stepped up countermeasures to defend the structure, deploying a ship with an array of radar reflectors to protect the bridge.

From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2023

She’d give anything to hear Gina telling her for the millionth time to wear her reflectors.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

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