vibrator
noun
Simple meaning
A trembler, as of an electric bell.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vybrayterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈvaɪbɹeɪtɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A mechanical device that vibrates
“A reed is the vibrator that produces the sound.”
A vibrating device used for massage or sexual stimulation.
A device that vibrates or causes vibration.
A device for vibrating the pen of a siphon recorder to diminish frictional resistance on the paper.
Mechanical device that produces vibratory motion; used for massage
A vibrating reed for transmitting or receiving pulsating currents in a harmonic telegraph system.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A mechanical device that vibrates
Used this way, vibrator is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is an engineering use: it is a working term used for accuracy on the job.
“A reed is the vibrator that produces the sound.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Natural pattern: vibrator that …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use vibrator
- “A reed is the vibrator that produces the sound.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A vibrator consisting of a thin strip of stiff material that vibrates to produce a tone when air streams over it.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.