elevator

Compared meaning: elevator, a machine that carries people up and down (noun).

比较义项：电梯（名词）。

• lift

  British English word for this machine; natural in UK contexts such as London or an office building, but sounds foreign or overly formal in American speech, where elevator is used instead.

  这是英式英语中表示这种机器的说法，在伦敦、写字楼等英国语境中很自然，但在美式英语口语中听起来生硬或不地道，美式英语会用 elevator。

  In London, we took the lift up to the fourth floor of the office building.

  在伦敦，我们乘电梯到了那栋写字楼的四楼。

• elevator 本词

  American English word for the same machine; the standard term in the US and widely used in American-influenced English worldwide, while British speakers say lift instead.

  这是美式英语中表示同一种机器的说法，是美国的标准用词，也广泛用于受美式英语影响的英语地区，而英式英语使用者会说 lift。

  In New York, we took the elevator up to the tenth floor of the hotel.

  在纽约，我们乘电梯到了酒店的十楼。

Lift and elevator both mean this machine, but the difference is regional. Lift is British English, natural in the UK. Elevator is American English, the standard word in the US. Lift as a verb meaning "to raise" is not compared here.

这两个词在这个意义上都表示“电梯”，区别主要在于地域用法：lift 是英式英语的说法，elevate 者不适用，elevator 是美式英语的说法，二者不能随意混用。这里不比较 lift 作动词表示“举起”的义项。