vacuum cleaner

noun

A device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.

Similar
hoovervacuumsweeper
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Meanings

nounvacuum cleaner (plural vacuum cleaners)

plural vacuum cleaners · alternative vacuum-cleaner

  1. A device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.

    Synonyms: hoover, vacuum, sweeper

  2. euphemisticslangThe buttocks.

    And if that's not a good enough explanation, you can shove it up your vacuum cleaner and turn it on high!

    2000, Irving Berlin, White Christmas

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.

Similar
hoovervacuumsweeper

More synonyms by meaning

nounan electrical home appliance that cleans by suction

Similar
vacuum
Broader
home appliancehousehold appliance
Also see
vacuum

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From vacuum + cleaner. By synchronic analysis, vacuum-clean (a back-formation) + -er.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans stofsuier
  • stofsuiermachine for cleaning
Arabic مِكْنَسَة كَهْرَبَائِيَّة
  • مِكْنَسَة كَهْرَبَائِيَّة (miknasa kahrabāʔiyya)machine for cleaning
Basque xurgagailu
  • xurgagailumachine for cleaning
Bengali ভ্যাকুয়াম ক্লিনার
  • ভ্যাকুয়াম ক্লিনার (bhêkuẏam klinar)machine for cleaning
Bulgarian прахосмука́чка
  • прахосмука́чка (prahosmukáčka)machine for cleaning
Catalan aspiradora
  • aspiradoramachine for cleaning
Chinese Cantonese 吸塵機 /吸尘机
  • 吸塵機 /吸尘机 (kap¹ can⁴ gei¹)machine for cleaning
Chinese Mandarin 吸塵器 /吸尘器, 真空吸塵器 /真空吸尘器
  • 吸塵器 /吸尘器 (xīchénqì)machine for cleaning
  • 真空吸塵器 /真空吸尘器 (zhēnkōng xīchénqì)machine for cleaning
Czech vysavač, lux
  • vysavačmachine for cleaning
  • luxmachine for cleaning
Danish støvsuger
  • støvsugermachine for cleaning
Dutch stofzuiger
  • stofzuigermachine for cleaning
Esperanto polvosuĉilo
  • polvosuĉilomachine for cleaning
Estonian tolmuimeja
  • tolmuimejamachine for cleaning
Finnish imuri, pölynimuri
  • imurimachine for cleaning
  • pölynimurimachine for cleaning
French aspirateur, balayeuse
  • aspirateurmachine for cleaning
  • balayeusemachine for cleaning
German Staubsauger
  • Staubsaugermachine for cleaning
Greek ηλεκτρική σκούπα
  • ηλεκτρική σκούπα (ilektrikí skoúpa)machine for cleaning
Hebrew שׁוֹאֵב אָבָק
  • שׁוֹאֵב אָבָק (sho'év avák)machine for cleaning
Hindi वैक्युम क्लीनर, निर्वात मार्जक
  • वैक्युम क्लीनर (vaikyum klīnar)machine for cleaning
  • निर्वात मार्जक (nirvāt mārjak)machine for cleaning
  • हूवर (hūvar)machine for cleaning
Hungarian porszívó
  • porszívómachine for cleaning
Icelandic ryksuga
  • ryksugamachine for cleaning
Indonesian penghisap debu, penyedot debu
  • penghisap debumachine for cleaning
  • penyedot debumachine for cleaning
Irish folúsghlantóir, húvar
  • folúsghlantóirmachine for cleaning
  • húvarmachine for cleaning
Italian aspirapolvere
  • aspirapolveremachine for cleaning
Japanese 掃除機
  • 掃除機 (sōjiki)machine for cleaning
Korean 진공청소기, 청소기
  • 진공청소기 (jin'gongcheongsogi)machine for cleaning
  • 청소기 (cheongsogi)machine for cleaning
Latvian putekļsūcējs
  • putekļsūcējsmachine for cleaning
Lithuanian dulkių siurblys
  • dulkių siurblysmachine for cleaning
Malay pembersih hampagas
  • pembersih hampagasmachine for cleaning
Māori pūrere ngote puehu, mīhini ngote puehu
  • pūrere ngote puehumachine for cleaning
  • mīhini ngote puehumachine for cleaning
  • hororemachine for cleaning
Norwegian Bokmål støvsuger
  • støvsugermachine for cleaning
Polish odkurzacz
  • odkurzaczmachine for cleaning
Portuguese aspirador
  • aspiradormachine for cleaning
Romanian aspirator
  • aspiratormachine for cleaning
Russian пылесо́с
  • пылесо́с (pylesós)machine for cleaning
Scottish Gaelic sguabadair
  • sguabadairmachine for cleaning
Slovak vysávač
  • vysávačmachine for cleaning
Spanish aspiradora, aspirador
  • aspiradoramachine for cleaning
  • aspiradormachine for cleaning
Swahili kisafishi ombwe
  • kisafishi ombwemachine for cleaning
Swedish dammsugare
  • dammsugaremachine for cleaning
Tagalog panlinis na humihigop ng dumi
  • panlinis na humihigop ng dumimachine for cleaning
Tamil தூசி உறிஞ்சி, துாசகற்றும்கருவிது
  • தூசி உறிஞ்சி (tūci uṟiñci)machine for cleaning
  • துாசகற்றும்கருவிதுmachine for cleaning
Thai เครื่องดูดฝุ่น
  • เครื่องดูดฝุ่น (krʉ̂ʉang-dùut-fùn)machine for cleaning
Turkish elektrikli süpürge
  • elektrikli süpürgemachine for cleaning
Ukrainian пилосо́с, пилосмо́к
  • пилосо́с (pylosós)machine for cleaning
  • пилосмо́к (pylosmók)machine for cleaning
Urdu وَیکْیُوم کِلِینَر, بَرْقی جارُوب کَش
  • وَیکْیُوم کِلِینَر (vaikyūm kilīnar)machine for cleaning
  • بَرْقی جارُوب کَش (barqī jārūb kaś)machine for cleaning
Vietnamese máy hút bụi
  • máy hút bụimachine for cleaning
Welsh sugnwr llwch, sugnlanhäwr
  • sugnwr llwchmachine for cleaning
  • sugnlanhäwrmachine for cleaning
  • hwfermachine for cleaning
Yiddish וואַקוּום, שטויבזויגער
  • וואַקוּום (vakuum)machine for cleaning
  • שטויבזויגער (shtoybzoyger)machine for cleaning
  • שטויבמאַשין (shtoybmashin)machine for cleaning
Cite this entry
APA

vacuum cleaner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vacuum%20cleaner

MLA

“vacuum cleaner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vacuum%20cleaner. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vacuum cleaner,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vacuum%20cleaner.

Source: vacuum cleaner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.