separator

[sep-uh-rey-ter] /ˈsɛp əˌreɪ tər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that separates.
2.
any of various apparatus for separating one thing from another, as cream from milk, steam from water, or wheat from chaff.
3.
Electricity. a device that prevents metal contact between plates of opposite charge in a storage battery.
4.
Machinery, retainer1 (def 3).
Origin
1600-10; < Late Latin sēparātor, equivalent to Latin sēparā(re) to separate + -tor -tor
Related forms
preseparator, noun
Examples from the web for separator
  • Roger wanted to build a stout furnace to service a small chemical separator he was developing.
  • Break an egg into an egg separator and let the egg white slip through the separator and into the sink or a container.
  • She encourages the acceptance of new inventions, the first of which is a separator.
  • As the fruit is siphoned from the water flooded bog, the leaves and other debris are removed by a wash in the separator.
  • Each cup has a flat side, onto which the separator clips.
  • The others prefer to use a fat separator, in which the fat migrates to the top.
  • Every layer of electrode material requires a separator of metal foil and polymer film.
  • As they secrete it, the diesel fraction circulates to a separator that extracts the fuel and sends it to storage tanks.
  • The separator discharges directly to the environment and the separator is treating storm water that falls on outdoor areas.
  • These separator systems are used to capture scrap amalgam which is too fine to be removed by a trap or a screen.
British Dictionary definitions for separator

separator

/ˈsɛpəˌreɪtə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that separates
2.
a device for separating things into constituent parts, as milk into cream, etc
Derived Forms
separatory, adjective
Word Origin and History for separator
n.

c.1600, "separatist," agent noun from separate (v.). As a mechanical device for separating, from 1831.