🛠️ A rubber machine 👷 A rubber worker

vulcanizer

1 9.5

A machine that treats rubber with heat and chemicals to make it stronger and more elastic

noun
/ˈvʌlkəˌnaɪzər/

Specialized

: vulcanizadora

The old factory still uses a vulcanizer to process natural rubber into durable tires.

Examples

After the rubber mixture cooled, it was placed in the vulcanizer for final treatment.
A malfunction in the vulcanizer halted production for several hours.
The vulcanizer heated the rubber to the perfect temperature.
A modern vulcanizer can improve the quality of tires.
The factory uses a vulcanizer to treat rubber with heat and chemicals for better strength.
To create sturdy tires, the rubber is treated in a vulcanizer that applies heat and sulfur.
A new vulcanizer was installed to enhance the process of making high-quality rubber products.

Surface Forms

vulcanizer singular

vulcanizers plural

Morphology

vulcanizer = vulcanize (semi-transparent) = vulcan + ize + er

The term 'vulcanize' is derived from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, which may not be immediately clear to learners.

Etymology

The word vulcanizer comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, and from vulcanize 'to treat rubber with heat'. So a vulcanizer can also mean a machine that uses heat and chemicals to make rubber stronger and more elastic.