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I've seen both the term "bubble wand" and "bubble blower" refer to the same thing in online translation dictionaries — a toy with a closed circle that one can blow bubbles through.

Do these terms have the exact same meaning? Are there regions where one term is used more often than the other?

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    I would have thought a "bubble blower" suggests a human (or perhaps a fan) blowing, while a "bubble wand" can be waved or held in the wind to create a bubble
    – Henry
    Oct 4 at 13:17
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    Can you give some context for these? Do you have a quote for both? (edit and add)
    – Mitch
    Oct 4 at 13:21
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    "Bubble wand" is fairly precise, but "bubble blower" seems very vague with a wide range of uses.
    – Stuart F
    Oct 4 at 14:20
  • blow through the wand to produce bubbles OR blow through the hoop to create the bubbles
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 4 at 16:57
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    Huh. Never in my life has it occurred to me that the thing you blow bubbles through using soapy water actually has a name. I’ve owned several of them in my childhood, but I don’t think the need to name it ever arose.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Oct 5 at 10:32

2 Answers 2

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A bubble wand is a stick with at least one circle (or other closed shape with a hole in the middle) attached to it. Bubbles are created by dipping it in soap and either blowing on it or waving it through the air. For example, from Amazon:

bubble wands, some with one circle, others with lots of shapes and designs

A bubble blower is a machine that blows bubbles (though it could also refer to a person who's blowing bubbles with a wand). You pour in bubble soap somewhere, and I guess some sort of fan blows bubbles out of a part that's essentially a bubble wand. Most of these seem to be powered by either batteries or by plugging in directly, though I would also use the term to refer to a similar device that's powered manually (e.g., by turning a crank or pushing a lever). Again, from Amazon:

dolphin machine

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  • I think you're right, but then what's going on here?
    – Heartspring
    Oct 4 at 13:52
  • @Heartspring Wiktionary? Please.
    – Mitch
    Oct 4 at 14:13
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    I'd call that fish/dolphin thing a "bubble machine" or "bubble maker" (and the Amazon listing seems to use the latter term). There are also "bubble guns" which are shaped like guns but have a similar function. You might differentiate devices by shape; by whether they have a motor, depend on turning a handle/crank/piston, or have to be waved about; whether they produce bubbles continuously; size; amount of bubbles produced; and whether they're aimed at children or adults (I've seen more professional versions used at live events). I don't think there's a definitive answer though.
    – Stuart F
    Oct 4 at 14:19
  • @Laurel♦ Could you provide some trustworthy sources to back these definitions up?
    – Tin Man
    Oct 4 at 21:29
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    @StuartF Sure, I'd also call those bubble machines. But that's not the point. OP asked if Wand and Blower are the same, Well, no, since when we hear "bubble blower" we think "oh, you probably mean a bubble machine".
    – Owen Reynolds
    Oct 4 at 23:26
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Let's not forget the bubble pipe, which IMO falls into the bubble blower category, since it holds the bubble solution as opposed to the "dip-stick" wands.

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A bubble pipe is a toy shaped like a tobacco pipe, intended to be used for blowing soap bubbles.
Wikipedia

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