elevator

[ el-uh-vey-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that elevates or raises.
2. a moving platform or cage for carrying passengers or freight from one level to another, as in a building.
3. any of various mechanical devices for raising objects or materials.
4. a building in which grain is stored and handled by means of mechanical elevator and conveyor devices.
5. Aeronautics. a hinged horizontal surface on an airplane or the like, used to control the longitudinal inclination and usually placed at the tail end of the fuselage.
6. elevator shoe.

elevator

/ ˈɛlɪˌveɪtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that elevates
2. a mechanical hoist for raising something, esp grain or coal, often consisting of a chain of scoops linked together on a conveyor belt
3. a platform, compartment, or cage raised or lowered in a vertical shaft to transport persons or goods in a building Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)lift
4. a large granary equipped with an elevator and, usually, facilities for cleaning and grading the grain
5. any muscle that raises a part of the body
6. a surgical instrument for lifting a part of the body
7. a control surface on the tailplane of an aircraft, for making it climb or descend

Word History and Origins

Origin of elevator¹

1640–50; < Late Latin ēlevātor, equivalent to ēlevā ( re ) ( elevate ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Back then, news crews packed into the lobby to capture everyone headed up the golden elevator to see Donald Trump on the 26th floor.

From BBC

What’s your elevator pitch for what you’re going to be doing?

From Slate

“We had no elevator, and I was little to no help as I had just found out I was pregnant and the first trimester nausea had hit bad,” Materna recalled.

From Salon

Ohtani went into an elevator, his role over the remainder of this Series still undetermined.

From Los Angeles Times

The pugnacious owner even claimed to have gotten into a fistfight with Dodgers fans in an elevator in the Hyatt Wilshire Hotel in 1981 after the Dodgers won three straight in L.A. to take the lead in the World Series 3-2.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• escalator