ventilator

[ven-tl-ey-ter]

noun

1. a person or thing that ventilates.

2. a contrivance or opening for replacing foul or stagnant air with fresh air.

3. Medicine/Medical.,  an apparatus to produce artificial respiration, moving air into and out of a patient’s lungs.

   The patient presented with signs of respiratory failure and was placed immediately on a ventilator.

ventilator

/ ˈvɛntɪˌleɪtə /

noun

1. an opening or device, such as a fan, used to ventilate a room, building, etc

2. med a machine that maintains a flow of air into and out of the lungs of a patient who is unable to breathe normally

Word History and Origins

Origin of ventilator¹

First recorded in 1735–45; ventilat(e) + -or ²

Example Sentences

They may require oxygen or intravenous fluid or even be put on a ventilator to help them breathe, according to the CDC.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Colombian survivor arrived in his homeland "with a traumatic brain injury, sedated, medicated, and breathing with the help of a ventilator", according to Colombia's interior minister.

Read more on BBC

Like the boy she watched suffocate because the hospital didn’t have enough ventilators.

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One of the trialled drugs caused her to stop breathing, and she had be put on a ventilator.

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Yusuf's family called on the trust to ensure families were told that when their children were on a ventilator they may still be able to hear them, and should be encouraged to interact with them.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• fireplace 
• flue 
• furnace 
• hearth 
• pipe 
• stack 
• vent