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

A possessed vacuum cleaner sparks a revolution in “A Useful Ghost,” a satire that’s “Brazil” by way of Bangkok.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026

She purchased with her partner a Dyson vacuum cleaner on sale and bought two pairs of Levi’s jeans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

"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

She got up from her desk and looked out the window and saw Mrs. Tickham running around the backyard with a shiny, oversize vacuum cleaner.

From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo

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