Skip to main content

elevator — A platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things to different floors or levels of a building

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: A platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things to different floors or levels of a building

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈeləveɪtər/

Example Sentences

  • The elevator was so slow that I grew a beard while waiting
  • Please hold the elevator door for me!
  • The elevator got stuck between the 5th and 6th floors

elevator

NOUN

[/ˈeləveɪtər/]

A platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things to different floors or levels of a building

She steps into the elevator — and steps out into a completely different world.
💡 Concept

She steps into the elevator — and steps out into a completely different world.

The elevator makes you a spectator — watching life from above, like a narrator.
🎵 Rhyme

The elevator makes you a spectator — watching life from above, like a narrator.

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈeləveɪtər/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈelɪveɪtə/

🌳Etymology

Rootelevate
Suffix--or

Origin

The word derives from Latin 'elevatus', the past participle of 'elevare', meaning 'to lift up' or 'to raise'. The term was applied to mechanical devices for vertical transport in the mid-19th century as industrial architecture introduced tall buildings requiring efficient means to elevate people and goods.

Breakdown

elevare (to lift up, to raise) + -ator (agent noun suffix indicating one who performs an action). The suffix '-ator' transforms the verb into a noun denoting the mechanism or device that performs the action of elevating.

🎵Rhyme

calculator
escalator
generator
navigator

🔗Collocations

take the elevator
elevator shaft
elevator button
freight elevator
elevator music
out of order

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“The elevator was so slow that I grew a beard while waiting”

“Please hold the elevator door for me!”

“The elevator got stuck between the 5th and 6th floors”

😄 Fun example

“I accidentally pressed all the elevator buttons like a Christmas tree”

📚Related Words

Want to master 27,000+ words?

Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.