simulator

/ˌsɪmjəˈleɪdər/

/sɪmjuˈleɪtə/

Other forms: simulators

A machine that creates the realistic sensation that you're operating a vehicle is a simulator. Pilots practice flying planes using simulators long before they take the controls of a jumbo jet.

You can think of a simulator as a device that mimics or simulates an experience, usually making it feel so real that you'd swear you were driving a car or flying an airplane. Many simulators are used in training people to operate vehicles or machinery, while others help teach medical students how to perform surgery, inject medication, and insert breathing tubes. In Latin, simulator means "copier or feigner," from the root similis, "resembling."

Definitions of simulator

1. noun

   a machine that simulates an environment for the purpose of training or research
   types:

   flight simulator, trainer

   simulator consisting of a machine on the ground that simulates the conditions of flying a plane

   Link trainer

   an early form of flight simulator

   type of:

   machine

   any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks