Definition of "aspirator" [as•pi•ra•tor]

• A device for removing liquids or gases by suction, especially an instrument that uses suction to remove substances, such as mucus or serum, from a body cavity. (noun)
• A suction pump used to create a partial vacuum. (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.

• "They used a tube, called an aspirator, that is about 30 inches long with a screen separation part way up the tube."
• "He attaches the meconium aspirator to the suction tubing and I turn an oxygen valve."
• "He chain-smoked cigarettes, sometimes with an aspirator to ease chronic asthma."