Dictionary

vibrator en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• [ˈvaɪ̯bɹeɪ̯ɾɚ] (General-American)
• /ˈvaɪbɹeɪtɚ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /vaɪˈbɹeɪtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From New Latin vibrātor, from Latin vibrō (“to vibrate”). By surface analysis, vibrate + -or.

Meanings

1. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ A vibrating device used for massage or sexual stimulation.
   • A vibrator does not call you on your birthday. A vibrator doesn't send you flowers the next day. You cannot take a vibrator home to meet your mother. 1998 August 2, Nicole Avril, Susan Kolinsky, “The Turtle and the Hare”, in Sex and the City, season 1, episode 9, spoken by Charlotte:
   • Evie’s website is a peek inside an idealized wife’s sex life, serving up “The Wife’s Guide to a Morning Quickie He’ll Think About All Day” (husbands, good) and “My Vibrator Almost Destroyed My Marriage” (solo sex, bad). 2026 April 28, Alaina Demopoulos, “‘A husband expects a yes’: how wife schools are shaping submissive Christian women”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • Mmm. I'm sick of my ‘Mighty Intruder’ vibrator with the flexible shaft and the textured head. 1988, Wendy Goldman, Judy Toll, Casual Sex?, spoken by Stacy (Lea Thompson):
   • They recommend a vibrator because it's a safe alternative to sex.
2. (historical) A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ A device designed to electromechanically interrupt current flowing to the step-up transformer which was used to generate the high tension positive supply in old battery-operated (automotive) valve radios.
3. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ A trembler, as of an electric bell.
4. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ A vibrating reed for transmitting or receiving pulsating currents in a harmonic telegraph system.
5. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ A device for vibrating the pen of a siphon recorder to diminish frictional resistance on the paper.
6. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ An oscillator.
7. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ An ink-distributing roller in a printing machine, having an additional vibratory motion.
8. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ A vibrating reed in a musical instrument, especially a reed organ.
9. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ Any of various vibrating devices, such as one for slackening the warp as a shed opens.
10. A device that vibrates or causes vibration. ▸ An attachment, usually pneumatic, in a moulding machine to shake the pattern loose.

Forms

Deriveds

supervibrator · bullet vibrator · rabbit vibrator · master vibrator · multivibrator

Hyponyms

cat · stick shaker

Relateds

vibrate · vibrant · vibration

Translations (44)

gl vibrador (device that causes vibration) · mk вибра́тор (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · pt vibrador (device that causes vibration) · fi hieromasauva (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · wuu 電動卵 /电动卵 (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · cs vibrátor (device that causes vibration) · cmn 振動器 /振动器 (device that causes vibration) · de Vibrator (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · tl pambayok (device that causes vibration) · fi väristin (device that causes vibration) · gl vibrador (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · bg вибра́тор (device that causes vibration) · pt vibrador (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · pl wibrator (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · cs vibrátor (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · ru вибра́тор (device that causes vibration) · bg вибра́тор (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · el δονητής (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · vi máy rung (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · cmn 按摩棒 (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · ru прерыва́тель (electromechanical current interruptor) · mr वाय्ब्रेटर (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · cmn 震動棒 /震动棒 (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · fr vibreur (device that causes vibration) · es vibrador (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · mk вибра́тор (device that causes vibration) · ko 진동기 (device that causes vibration) · tr titreşim cihazı (device that causes vibration) · cmn 振子 (device that causes vibration) · ko 바이브레이터 (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · de Vibrator (device that causes vibration) · tr vibratör (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · fr vibreur (electromechanical current interruptor) · fi hieromalaite (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · fi vibraattori (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · fi tärytin (device that causes vibration) · el δονητής (electromechanical current interruptor) · ja バイブレーター (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · el δονητής (device that causes vibration) · sk vibrátor (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · pl wibrator (device that causes vibration) · fr vibromasseur (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · ru вибра́тор (device used for massage or sexual stimulation) · ja バイブ (device used for massage or sexual stimulation)