noun · 10 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:/ˈɹəʊ.tə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈɹoʊ.tɚ/
/ˈɹoʊ.tə/US, non-rhotic
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with (UK) -əʊtə
homophone: rota
homophone: Rota (non-rhotic)
homophone: Rhoda (non-rhotic, flapping)
CMU ARPABET:R OW1 T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
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 rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
In a disc brake, the metal disc attached to the wheel hub.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
An amusement park and carnival ride consisting of a rotating cylindrical chamber in which centrifugal force adheres riders to the wall as the floor drops away, creating a sensation of defying gravity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
rotating mechanism consisting of an assembly of rotating airfoils
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
there are horizontal rotors on a helicopter or compressor rotors in a jet engine
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rotating mechanism
Narrower terms: main rotor, tail rotor, anti-torque rotor
9
noun
Meaning 9
the rotating armature of a motor or generator
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rotor coil
Antonyms: stator
Broader terms: armature
10
noun
Meaning 10
the revolving bar of a distributor
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: bar
History
Etymology
From an irregular clipping of rotator, originally in mathematics, coined by English mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford based on vector, see quotations. Doublet of rota and ruote.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
عَمُود نَاقِل الْحَرَكَة
(ʕamūd nāqil al-ḥaraka)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Basque:
errotore
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Bulgarian:
ротор
(rotor)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Chinese Mandarin:
轉子 /转子
(zhuànzǐ)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Czech:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Finnish:
roottori
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Finnish:
pyörijä
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
French:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
German:
Rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Greek:
δρομέας
(droméas)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Italian:
rotore
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Japanese:
ローター
(rōtā)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Japanese:
回転子
(kaitenshi)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Macedonian:
ротор
(rotor)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Māori:
paetāwhirowhiro
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Norwegian:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Polish:
wirnik
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Polish:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Portuguese:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Romanian:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Russian:
ро́тор
(rótor)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Serbo-Croatian:
ротор
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Serbo-Croatian:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Spanish:
rotor
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Tagalog:
painog
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Ukrainian:
ро́тор
(rótor)
— a rotating part of a mechanical device
Bulgarian:
ротор
(rotor)
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Bulgarian:
перка
(perka)
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Chinese Mandarin:
旋翼
(xuányì)
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Chinese Mandarin:
主旋翼
(zhǔ xuányì)
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Finnish:
roottori
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
German:
Hauptrotor
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Italian:
rotore
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Italian:
pala
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Polish:
wirnik
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Polish:
śmigło
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Portuguese:
hélice
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Romanian:
elice
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Russian:
ро́тор
(rótor)
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Russian:
несу́щий винт
(nesúščij vint)
— the wing of a helicopter or similar
Spanish:
hélice
— the wing of a helicopter or similar