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handheld vacuum cleaner

handheld vacuum cleaner

2.9
A small portable machine that sucks up dirt from small areas
  • noun
  • /ˈhændˌhɛld ˈvæk.juːm ˈkliː.nɚ/
translation icon : aspiradora portátil
  • Many people keep a handheld vacuum cleaner handy for pet hair on furniture.

Examples

  • I bought a handheld vacuum cleaner yesterday.

  • She used a handheld vacuum cleaner to remove crumbs from the car seats.

  • A handheld vacuum cleaner is perfect for quick cleanups in the kitchen.

  • Do you have a handheld vacuum cleaner?

  • I bought a handheld vacuum cleaner to quickly clean up spills in the kitchen.

  • The handheld vacuum cleaner is perfect for cleaning my car's interior.

  • She used a handheld vacuum cleaner to remove crumbs from the couch.

Synonyms

vacuum
vshandheld vacuum cleaner
88 1.6

A machine that cleans floors and carpets by sucking up dust and dirt

is smaller in scale and made for quick small-area cleaning
vacuum cleaner
vshandheld vacuum cleaner
41 1.0

An electric machine that cleans floors and carpets by sucking up dust

is narrower, focusing on small portable use for spills
Hoover
vshandheld vacuum cleaner
  • UK
2 3.6

A machine that removes dust and dirt from floors and carpets

is the smaller, portable type rather than any larger machine
hand-held vacuum cleaner
vshandheld vacuum cleaner
2.7

A small vacuum you hold to clean crumbs in cars or on sofas

is the identical device but written without a hyphen
handheld vacuum
vshandheld vacuum cleaner
2.6

A small portable cleaner you hold in one hand to clean small messes

uses the full name stressing the device's cleaning purpose
hand-held vacuum
vshandheld vacuum cleaner
3.7

A small portable machine that sucks up dirt from chairs or car seats

refers more generally to cleaning small areas or spills

How Portable

handheld vacuum cleaner
2.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

handheld + vacuum + cleaner

The noun phrase is fully compositional: 'handheld' (small and held in the hand) modifies 'vacuum cleaner' (a device that removes dust), so the meaning 'a small vacuum cleaner designed to be held' is directly derivable from the parts. This is a common, cross-linguistic compound/NP formation and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

The compound noun handheld vacuum cleaner comes from the picture of a small vacuum cleaner you can hold in your hand to clean crumbs and little messes. So the phrase means a 'small and easy to carry' cleaner for quick jobs.