English Lexicon

Dilator

/daɪˈleɪ.tər/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #28450 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A muscle, instrument, or drug that widens or opens a body part, orifice, or tubular structure.

    "The surgeon used a specialized dilator to safely widen the narrowed blood vessel during the procedure."
  2. 2

    An anatomical structure, such as a muscle, whose contraction causes the expansion of a part.

    "The dilator pupillae is the smooth muscle responsible for enlarging the pupil in dim lighting conditions."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Late Latin word 'dilatator', meaning 'one who enlarges or spreads out', stemming from the verb 'dilatare' (to widen, expand), formed from 'di-' (apart) + 'latus' (wide, broad). It entered medical and technical English in the early 19th century to describe both anatomical structures and surgical instruments used for expanding bodily orifices or tubular passages.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Dilator"?

10 Global Lexicons: How "Dilator" is said worldwide

Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Dilator"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Dilator" Synonym Map