- a person or thing that diffuses
- a part of a lighting fixture consisting of a translucent or frosted covering or of a rough reflector: used to scatter the light and prevent glare
- a cone, wedge, or baffle placed in front of the diaphragm of a loudspeaker to diffuse the sound waves
- a duct, esp in a wind tunnel or jet engine, that widens gradually in the direction of flow to reduce the speed and increase the pressure of the air or fluid
- a light-scattering medium, such as a screen of fine fabric, placed in the path of a source of light to reduce the sharpness of shadows and thus soften the lighting
- a device, attached to a hairdryer, which diffuses the warm air as it comes out
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2017
dif•fus•er
(di fyo̅o̅′zər),USA pronunciation n.
- Physicsa person or thing that diffuses.
- Physics(in various machines or mechanical systems, as centrifugal pumps or compressors) a device for utilizing part of the kinetic energy of a fluid passing through a machine by gradually increasing the cross-sectional area of the channel or chamber through which it flows so as to decrease its speed and increase its pressure.
- Physics, Electricity(in a lighting fixture) any of a variety of translucent materials for filtering glare from the light source.
- Physics, Civil Engineeringa pierced plate or similar device for distributing compressed air for aeration of sewage.
- diffuse + -er1 1670–80
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
diffuser, diffusor /dɪˈfjuːzə/ n
'diffuser' also found in these entries: