respirator
[res-puh-rey-ter]
- a masklike device, usually of gauze, worn over the mouth, or nose and mouth, to prevent the inhalation of noxious substances or the like.
- British. gas mask.
- Medicine/Medical. an apparatus to produce artificial respiration.
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Origin of respirator
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for respirator
Contemporary Examples
“Republican Cuts Kill” is printed across the screen, with the only sound a person struggling to breathe through a respirator.
“I used gloves and a respirator, and protective clothing,” he says.
Ortega is in stable but critical condition on a respirator at Weill Cornell Medical Center.
A New York Nanny Allegedly Kills Two Children and Neighbors Struggle to UnderstandDavid Freedlander, Eliza Shapiro
October 27, 2012
But Carina Melchior did not die after her respirator was removed.
Instead, Anderson slipped into a coma and later died when his mother took him off a respirator on April 13.
Historical Examples
Once through the double portals, she pulled the respirator from her face.
Foundling on VenusJohn de Courcy
She looked at the small bundle, walked over and slipped off his respirator.
Foundling on VenusJohn de Courcy
In sonorous, booming tones, somewhat muffled by his respirator.
A Book of BurlesquesH. L. Mencken
He slipped a respirator over his head and moved into the corridor.
The Status CivilizationRobert Sheckley
I could see a respirator off to my right, and a suction octopus near it.
AttritionJim Wannamaker
respirator
- an apparatus for providing long-term artificial respiration
- Also called: gas mask a device worn over the mouth and nose to prevent inhalation of noxious fumes or to warm cold air before it is breathed
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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 respirator
n.
1836, as an aid to breathing (originally a sort of gauze mask, agent noun from respire. As "machine to provide artificial respiration" from 1929.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
respirator
(rĕs′pə-rā′tər)- A device that supplies oxygen or a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide for breathing, used especially in artificial respiration.inhalator ventilator
- A screenlike device worn over the mouth or nose or both to protect the respiratory tract.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.