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

Derived Forms

vacuum cleaning

noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

vacuum cleaners

plural

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.

Sebastien Leas, a forecaster at France's weather service, likened it to a "vacuum cleaner, drawing in heat and masses of hot air rising from North Africa" and blasting it northward in a violent torrent.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

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

It was about a woman in a small town who bought a vacuum cleaner.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

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