Standard Lemma guide

breathalyzer

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈbɹɛθəlaɪzɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A device that measures alcohol in expired air so as to estimate the concentration of alcohol in a person's blood; used by traffic police in cases of suspected driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a device that measures chemicals (especially the alcohol content) in a person's expired breath

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: breathalyser

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: device

History

Etymology

Blend of breath + analyzer. Originally a trademark of Smith & Wesson. Equivalent to breathalyze + -er.

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Basque: alkoholimetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Catalan: alcoholímetre — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Chinese Mandarin: 酒精測定器 /酒精测定器 (jiǔjīng cèdìngqì) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Chinese Mandarin: 酒精檢測儀 /酒精检测仪 (jiǔjīng jiǎncèyí) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Czech: foukací balónek — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Czech: alkohol test — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Finnish: alkometri — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • French: éthylotest — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • French: éthylomètre — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • French: alcootest — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Galician: alcoholímetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Galician: alcolímetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • German: Blasrohr — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • German: Alkoholtester — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Hebrew: יַנְשׁוּף (yanshúf) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Italian: etilometro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Japanese: アルコールチェッカー (arukōru chekkā) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Japanese: アルコール検査器 (arukōru kensaki) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Japanese: アルコール検知器 (arukōru kenshutsuki) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Korean: 음주측정기 (eumjucheukjeonggi) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Polish: alkomat — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Polish: balonik — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: etilómetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: etilômetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: alcoolímetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: alcoolómetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: alcoolômetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: bafómetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: bafômetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Portuguese: balão — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Russian: алкотестер (alkotester) — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Spanish: alcoholímetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Spanish: alcotest — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Spanish: borrachómetro — a device that measures alcohol in expired air
  • Turkish: alkolmetre — a device that measures alcohol in expired air