vacuum cleaner
41
1.0
- noun
- /ˈvæk.juːm ˈkliː.nɚ/
:
aspiradora
- A show of hands, who knows what a vacuum cleaner is?
- HEPA vacuum cleaner
- washing machines and vacuum cleaners
- robot vacuum cleaner
No, you have a vacuum cleaner, OK?
- No, you have a vacuum cleaner, OK?
- I purchased my very own Dyson vacuum cleaner.
- They try to suck you back in like a vacuum cleaner.
- I realize that just now I have a room that, but I don't have a vacuum cleaner.
- And for people who don't know, one of the things that I robot has created is the Roomba vacuum cleaner.
- And it's the guys who designed, the architects who designed just up the road, the Hoover factory, the vacuum cleaner factory, right?
- No, I, dude, I showed up at bad friends one day and somebody had sent me something that, I swear to God, is the size of a vacuum cleaner.
Examples
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My mother uses the vacuum cleaner to keep the carpets clean and free of dust.
-
I hurried back inside and followed the sound of the vacuum cleaner into the dining room.
Fiction book (1992) -
No, you have a vacuum cleaner, OK?
-
Maybe the switch here has failed, or maybe it's something deep down in the actual vacuum cleaner also that comes out.
-
All right, so the vacuum cleaner is now empty and we're going to see how much gets collected.
-
After he left, I thought I would put the new vacuum cleaner away in the hall closet.
Fiction book (1999) -
Some doors are open; we can hear the vacuum cleaner of a janitor.
Fiction book (1992) -
Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, solves complex problems by using a few simple rules.
Academic text (2009) -
Clemmie hauled out the industrial vacuum cleaner from the utility room.
Fiction book (1999) -
After storing the vacuum cleaner, she sat on the sofa to read Zurita's book.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
88
1.6
A machine that cleans floors and carpets by sucking up dust and dirt
2
3.6
A machine that removes dust and dirt from floors and carpets
A small machine for cleaning floors that you wear on your back with straps
A small vacuum cleaner that straps onto your back for cleaning large spaces
A vacuum cleaner that runs on a battery and has no cord
A small portable cleaner you hold in one hand to clean small messes
A small portable machine that sucks up dirt from small areas
A small vacuum you hold to clean crumbs in cars or on sofas
A small portable machine that sucks up dirt from chairs or car seats
How Powerful
41
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward compositional compound: 'vacuum' (the suction device or action that removes dust) combined with 'cleaner' (one that cleans) yields a device that cleans by vacuum/suction. The noun+agent/nominal compounding pattern is common and the overall meaning is directly derivable from the parts, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.
Etymology
Vacuum cleaner comes from the word vacuum meaning 'empty space' and cleaner meaning something that cleans. The idea is a machine that makes a small empty space and pulls dust and dirt inside, so today it means a device that cleans by 'suction'.