vibrator

American  

[vahy-brey-ter] / ˈvaɪ breɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that vibrates.

2. any of various machines or devices causing a vibratory motion or action.

3. a small electrical device of variable shape, made to oscillate very rapidly and used in massage or to provide sexual pleasure.

4. Electricity.

   1. a device in which, by continually repeated impulses, a steady current is changed into an oscillating current.

   2. a device for producing electric oscillations.

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vibrator British  

/ vaɪˈbreɪtə /

noun

1. 1. a device for producing a vibratory motion, such as one used in massage or in the distribution of wet concrete in moulds

   2. such a device with a vibrating part or tip, used as a dildo

2. a device in which a vibrating conductor interrupts a circuit to produce a pulsating current from a steady current, usually so that the current can then be amplified or the voltage transformed See also chopper

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Other Word Forms

• nonvibrator noun

Etymology

Origin of vibrator

First recorded in 1860–65; vibrate + -or ²

Example Sentences

The special concrete will coalesce without any need to plunge a power vibrator into the slurry, a task workers at the 2007 Tacoma Narrows Bridge performed hundreds of times while forming its 510-foot-high towers.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 22, 2022

The treatments were performed with a hand-held vibrator and involved three cycles of stimulation to the tendons on the non-operated wrist, with a 10-second rest between cycles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 21, 2015

The voice box can be replaced with a mechanical vibrator, and understandable speech is still possible.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

For the dune buggy, the students built a vest from a massage chair vibrator.

From US News • Feb. 4, 2011

To produce the waves Hertz used two forms of vibrator.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various