windshield wiper
9
2.3
- noun
- /ˈwɪndˌʃild ˈwaɪpər/
- US
:
limpiaparabrisas
- Make sure to check that your windshield wiper fluid is full before a long drive.
- windshield wiper blade
- turn on the windshield wipers
- intermittent windshield wipers
Examples
-
It's evening now, and the windshield wipers are fighting against the rain.
Fiction book (1992) -
The rain had started, so we had to ride with the windshield wipers wagging monotonously.
Fiction book (1995) -
This one was under the windshield wiper of my car.
-
Listen, you might want to turn on your windshield wipers.
-
Anyone want to buy a windshield wiper?
-
We don't have windshield wipers.
-
We've got the windshield wipers over here.
-
"Summer storms are rare here," Father Geary said, switching on the windshield wipers.
Fiction book (1991) -
"Because the windshield wipers are on and it hasn't rained since April," he said.
Fiction book (1999) -
Don't rain! By the time she approached the Causeway, she was in a downpour, windshield wipers working fast and noisily.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
29
2.1
A rubber blade that clears rain and snow from a car windshield
2
2.4
A long thin strip of rubber that wipes a car windshield
1
2.3
A moving rubber blade on a car that clears rain or snow from the front window
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'windshield' (the front vehicle glass) with 'wiper' (a blade device that clears rain/debris), yielding a device that clears the windshield. This is a literal noun–noun compound following common compositional patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the expression.
Etymology
The noun windshield wiper comes from a simple image: the wiper, a moving blade, cleans the windshield, the front glass of a car, by 'wiping' rain and snow away. That's why it means 'a device that clears a car's windshield'.