Definition of "ventilator" []

• A device that circulates fresh air and expels stale or foul air. (noun)
• Medicine A respirator. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And I agree that starving or dehydrating or just stopping a ventilator is cruel."
• "To a patient whose lungs are temporarily compromised, short-term ventilator support is often the difference between life and death."
• "Similarly, the Workgroup's approach overtly confined its triage guidelines to those patients in hospitals or in need of acute care, and excluded patients on long-term ventilator support in long-term care facilities."