What does blender mean?
A blender is a countertop or handheld kitchen appliance that uses rapidly rotating metal blades to mix, purée, chop, or liquefy foods and liquids. Blenders are among the most common small appliances in modern kitchens, used for everything from smoothies, soups, sauces, and salad dressings to crushing ice and making nut butters. The term is standard in American English, while many British cooks favor 'liquidiser' for the full-size jug-style machine, although 'blender' is understood internationally; the wand-shaped variant is usually called an immersion or hand blender. The word is formed from the verb 'blend', meaning to mix together smoothly, combined with the agent suffix '-er'. Beyond cooking, 'blender' occasionally appears figuratively to describe anything that mixes elements together, but this usage is uncommon compared with the appliance sense. Practical, familiar, and unambiguous in context, the word is a staple of recipe writing and kitchen vocabulary alike.
nounAn electric kitchen appliance with spinning blades used to mix, purée, or emulsify food and liquids.
- An electric kitchen appliance with rotating blades for mixing, puréeing, or liquefying food and drink.
- (Rare) A person or thing that blends.
"She puréed the soup until smooth using an immersion blender."
"Toss the fruit, yogurt, and ice into the blender and whizz for thirty seconds."
"The recipe works best if you emulsify the dressing in a blender rather than by hand."
Standard regular plural; applies when referring to multiple appliances.
"The café runs three commercial blenders behind the counter."
The electric blender was invented in the 1920s — and its earliest big customer wasn't home cooks, but soda fountains churning out malted milkshakes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blender
The word 'blender' is an agent noun formed from the verb 'blend' plus the suffix '-er', denoting a thing that blends. 'Blend' entered English in the Middle English period, borrowed from Old Norse 'blanda', meaning to mix, which replaced or merged with native Old English forms such as 'blandan'. The appliance sense arose in the early twentieth century once electric motorized mixers became commercially available, with the modern countertop blender emerging in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s.
How blender is actually used
'Blender' is the everyday, neutral term in American English; British speakers often say 'liquidiser' (or 'liquidizer') for the full-size appliance, though 'blender' is widely understood everywhere. The small stick-shaped version is typically called an 'immersion' or 'hand' blender.
Easily confused with blender
As a simple agent noun, 'blender' can technically mean one who blends, but in modern usage it almost always refers to the appliance rather than a person.