Synonyms

vacuum cleaner

American

noun

an electrical appliance for cleaning carpets, floors, etc., by suction.

vacuum cleaner British

noun

an electrical household appliance used for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, etc, by suction

"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

vacuum cleaning noun

Etymology

Origin of vacuum cleaner

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

Could this year’s hottest Valentine’s Day gift be…a vacuum cleaner?

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s Cannes Grand Prix winner opens with a haunted vacuum cleaner.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

"We found that increasing Sox9 expression triggered astrocytes to ingest more amyloid plaques, clearing them from the brain like a vacuum cleaner," Deneen said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 23, 2025

So he removed the AC units, sealed the windows and searched for the best tool he had: a vacuum cleaner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

Inside, intersecting shadows left by a vacuum cleaner were frozen on the surface of a plush pear-colored carpet.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023