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.
UK:/diːˈfɪbɹɪˌleɪtə(ɹ)/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:D IY0 F IH1 B R IH0 L EY2 T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An electronic device used internally or externally that delivers a controlled electric shock to a patient to correct ventricular fibrillation, a lack of coordination of the contraction of muscle tissue of the large chambers of the heart.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: cardiology, medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
an electronic device that administers an electric shock of preset voltage to the heart through the chest wall in an attempt to restore the normal rhythm of the heart during ventricular fibrillation
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: electronic device
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English defibrillate Old French -eorbor. Middle English -our Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -torlbor. English -or English defibrillator From defibrillate + -or.
Across languages
Translations
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.