ventilator

[ ven-tl-ey-ter ]

/ ˈvɛn tlˌeɪ tər /

a person or thing that ventilates.

a contrivance or opening for replacing foul or stagnant air with fresh air.

Medicine/Medical. a respirator.

Origin of ventilator

First recorded in 1735–45; ventilate + -or²

They want money, not to shut off the ventilator of a particular patient.

How Your Pacemaker Will Get Hacked |Kaiser Health News |November 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“Sometimes you might withdraw a ventilator in cases of very severe and permanent neurological damage,” Joffe said.

U.K. Courts Grant Mother Right to End Her 12-Year-Old Disabled Daughter’s Life |Elizabeth Picciuto |November 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He lectured the witness that the location of two ventilator fans was very important “because it will show you are lying.”

Pistorius’s Cross-Examination Could Have Been Grounds for a Mistrial in a U.S. Court |James D. Zirin |May 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He is paralyzed, breathes through a ventilator, and communicates via a sophisticated computer.

A Brief History of Hawking’s Boycott |Matthew Kalman |May 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Early signs indicate the windpipe is working, Hannah's doctors announced Tuesday, although she is still on a ventilator.

The Power of Stem Cell Research Saves a Little Girl |Ilana Glazer |May 1, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The oven is provided with a ventilator, which carries off the odour of baked or roasted meats.

Household Administration |Various
Olga Obosky was well forward, seated on the edge of a partially wrecked skylight and ventilator.

West Wind Drift |George Barr McCutcheon
But even if it stood open it would hardly occur to any one to try the screws of the ventilator one after another.

Timar's Two Worlds |Mr Jkai
He left the curve in the machine, closed the ventilator in the wall over his desk, and turned on the burglar alarm.

The Romantic Analogue |W.W. Skupeldyckle
As they drew near he perceived that it was a large ship's ventilator.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, October 28, 1914 |Various

ventilator

/ (ˈvɛntɪˌleɪtə) /

an opening or device, such as a fan, used to ventilate a room, building, etc

med a machine that maintains a flow of air into and out of the lungs of a patient who is unable to breathe normally