Meaning & use
generator
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A machine that turns movement or fuel into electricity, often used when the normal power supply fails.
Grammar: Has a plural: the hospital has two backup generators.
Patterns
- run on a generator
- a generator for something
When the storm cut the power, we switched on the generator.
The campsite runs its lights from a diesel generator.
A large generator in the basement keeps the hospital working during blackouts.
nouncountablecomputing
A person, program, or device that produces something automatically or in large amounts.
Grammar: Usually follows the thing produced: a random number generator.
Patterns
- a generator of something
- a something generator
The website includes a free password generator.
She built a name generator for her tabletop game.
The festival turned out to be a generator of local jobs.
nouncountabletechnical
A device that produces gas, steam, or another substance by a chemical or physical process.
Grammar: Often with a noun before it: a steam generator.
Patterns
- a steam generator
- a gas generator
A steam generator in the plant heats water until it boils.
The laboratory used a small hydrogen generator.
A smoke generator filled the stage with mist.
Word forms
| plural | generators |
|---|
Common combinations
- a backup generator
- The hotel kept a backup generator for emergencies.
- run a generator
- Don't run a generator indoors because of the fumes.
- a portable generator
- A portable generator powered the tools at the work site.
- a random number generator
- The lottery draw uses a random number generator.
- power generator
- A power generator on the farm lights the barn.
- a wind-powered generator
- A wind-powered generator stands behind the cabin.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dynamo
- Dynamo is an older word for a generator that makes direct current, such as the type on an old bicycle light.
- alternator
- Alternator specifically produces alternating current, as in a car engine, whereas generator is the general word.
- producer
- Producer is a general word for anything that makes something, while generator suggests an engine or process making a steady supply.
- engine
- Engine converts fuel to motion; a generator turns that motion into electricity.
Opposites
Word family
- generate verb
- to produce or cause something to exist
- generation noun
- the act of producing something, or a group born at about the same time
- generative adjective
- able to produce or create something new
- regenerate verb
- to grow or form again
Commonly confused: generator or generate?
generator vs generate
Generate is the verb, while generator names the machine or thing doing the generating.
Practice
When the power went out, the café used a ___ to keep the refrigerators running.
Choose one answer.
A generator is the machine that produces electricity. The other words look similar but mean something quite different.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “generator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.