Skip to main content
electric iron

electric iron

1 1.1
A small machine with a flat hot metal base used to press clothes and remove wrinkles
  • noun
  • /ɪˈlɛktrɪk ˈaɪərn/
translation icon : plancha eléctrica
  • He plugged in the electric iron and carefully glided it over the fabric to smooth out the creases.

Examples

  • We didn't have those electric irons.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Think of the changes we have witnessed in the electric iron, the refrigerator, and the processing and packaging of food, to name a few.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Not everyone has a good electric iron, but then, not everyone knows how to use it.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The three main basic features, equipment, and professional experience are important in the value of the company when selecting an electric iron.

    Blog text (30)
  • The neighbors heard both of us screaming and crying because Mama beat me almost to death with the cord from the electric iron.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I forgot to mention the small chest freezer, the ceiling fans, the electric iron, and the dog dryer.

    Blog text (28)
  • She pressed her shirt with an electric iron to remove the wrinkles before the meeting.

  • Using an electric iron makes it much easier to get clothes looking neat and presentable.

Synonyms

iron
vselectric iron
70 1.0

A metal tool with a flat hot base for removing wrinkles from clothes

is heated by electricity and used to press clothes and remove wrinkles
steam iron
vselectric iron
1 1.8

A small electric machine that makes steam to remove wrinkles from clothes

is the same flat heated device but without built-in vapour emission
smoothing iron
vselectric iron
3.0

A tool with a flat hot metal base that removes creases from clothes

is the general electrically heated device used for pressing clothes

How Effective

steam iron
1 1.8
electric iron
1 1.1

Surface Forms

electric iron singular

Morphology

electric + iron

The meaning 'a clothes-pressing iron powered by electricity' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'electric' (powered by electricity) with 'iron' (the appliance for pressing clothes). This adjective + noun composition is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common pattern and will be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Electric iron comes from joining electric and iron: an iron is the flat metal tool used to 'press clothes'. Adding 'electric' shows it is heated by 'electricity' instead of by fire, so the name means a flat metal tool that uses electricity to remove wrinkles.