English Reference

Word

ventilator

Phoneticsven·ti·la·tor

US/ˈvɛnəˌɫeɪtɝ/

UK/vˈɛntɪlˌeɪtɐ/

Definition

n. a machine that helps a person breathe when they cannot do it on their own. It is often used in hospitals for patients with serious breathing problems.

n. a mechanical device that assists or replaces spontaneous breathing by moving air into and out of the lungs. Often used in clinical contexts to describe life-support equipment.

Examples

“The patient is on a ventilator to help him breathe.”

“Doctors placed the patient on a ventilator after his lungs failed to respond to oxygen therapy.”

“Modern intensive care units are equipped with advanced ventilators that can adjust pressure levels to protect the delicate alveoli in a patient's lungs during recovery.”

Examples

simple

“The patient is on a ventilator to help him breathe.”

contextual

“Doctors placed the patient on a ventilator after his lungs failed to respond to oxygen therapy.”

complex

“Modern intensive care units are equipped with advanced ventilators that can adjust pressure levels to protect the delicate alveoli in a patient's lungs during recovery.”

Real-World Examples

“At various times they have blocked the import of ventilator machines, medications for cancer, wedding dresses, sewing machines, toys, musical instruments, spices, dates and crutches.”
The Guardian · 26 Sept 2026
“The festival has its own free emergency room, Rampart, which is equipped with “X-ray machines, a pharmacy with over 100 medications, blood products, ventilators, chest tubes, arterial lines, [and] IV pumps”, SFGate reported .”
The Guardian · 13 Sept 2026

Etymology

From ventilate + -or; cf. Latin ventilator.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

Domain

Medicine

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

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