Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Something that vibrates, especially an electrical device used for massage or sexual gratification.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any arm or lever pivoted at one point and free to swing or vibrate between stops, usually adjustable in position; in general uses, such a device operating at high speeds or frequency.
  • noun An appliance with a rubber or other tip of variable shape which is made to oscillate very rapidly by means of electricity or some mechanical device: employed in mechanicotherapy to give vibratory massage to a part.
  • noun In electricity or telegraphy, a reed the vibrations of which are made to open and close the electric circuit and hence transmit pulsatory currents; also, a reed acted on by pulsatory currents by means of an electromagnet, and hence made to respond to the vibrations of a corresponding reed sending these currents from a distance. See harmonic telegraph, under telegraph.
  • noun In the reed-organ, one of the reeds by which the tone is produced.
  • noun In printing, an inking-roller that has a vibrating as well as a rotary movement, which aids the distribution of ink on the inking-table of a cylinder-press.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Elec.) A trembler, as of an electric bell.
  • noun An ink-distributing roller in a printing machine, having an additional vibratory motion.
  • noun (Music) A vibrating reed, esp. in a reed organ.
  • noun (Weaving) Any of various vibrating devices, as one for slackening the warp as a shed opens.
  • noun An attachment, usually pneumatic, in a molding machine to shake the pattern loose.
  • noun a small electrical device held in the hand, with a motor that causes the device and hand to vibrate, and is used for vibratory massage.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A device that vibrates or causes vibration.
  • noun A vibrating device used for massage or sexual stimulation.
  • noun A device designed to electromechanically interrupt current flowing to the stepup transformer which was used to generate the high tension positive supply in old battery operated (automotive) valve radios.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun mechanical device that produces vibratory motion; used for massage
  • noun a mechanical device that vibrates

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From New Latin vibrator, from Latin vibrare ("to vibrate"); see vibrate.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I told you WeirdNet can be coy. Sometimes.

    October 23, 2008

  • I like the fourth definition best. But I wonder whether it's a mechanical mechanism?

    October 23, 2008

  • Outside of industrial settings, vibrator means sex toy. Only Wiktionary includes that definition.

    August 14, 2015