elevator

noun

el·​e·​va·​tor ˈe-lə-ˌvā-tər 

1

: one that raises or lifts something up: such as

a

: an endless belt or chain conveyor with cleats, scoops, or buckets for raising material

b

: a cage or platform and its hoisting machinery for conveying people or things to different levels

c

: grain elevator

2

: a movable airfoil usually attached to the tailplane of an airplane for controlling pitch see airplane illustration

Examples of elevator in a Sentence

We took the elevator to the 10th floor.

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s also a nightclub where guests can view autos from a 65-foot glass elevator and a set of stairs off a gym leading to the separate five-bedroom, 6,100-square-foot guesthouse. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 16 Dec. 2025

Unlike today’s largely flat, 2D chips, the new prototype’s key ultra-thin components rise like stories in a tall building, with vertical wiring acting like numerous high-speed elevators that enable fast, massive data movement. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Dec. 2025

Kroft walked into the elevator and recognized Thompson—only from that night’s speech, not from Scheffler’s office. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2025

About 20 minutes before the shooting, new surveillance video shows the suspect pull a gun on a man in the elevator of an apartment building about 10 blocks north. —Ali Bauman, CBS News, 13 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing elevator

• elevator music
• grain elevator
• space elevator

Rhymes for elevator

• activator
• actuator
• agitator
• alligator
• allocator
• alternator
• animator
• annotator
• applicator
• arbitrator
• aspirator
• aviator

Kids Definition

elevator

noun

el·​e·​va·​tor ˈel-ə-ˌvāt-ər 

1

a

: a continuous belt or chain conveyor for raising material

b

: a cage or platform and its hoisting machinery for carrying things or people to different levels

c

: a building for elevating, storing, unloading, and sometimes grinding grain

called also grain elevator

2

: a movable device shaped like a wing that is usually attached to the tail of an airplane for producing motion up or down

Medical Definition

elevator

noun

el·​e·​va·​tor ˈel-ə-ˌvāt-ər 

1

: a dental instrument for removing teeth or the roots of teeth which cannot be gripped with a forceps

2

: a surgical instrument for raising a depressed part (as a bone) or for separating contiguous parts