differentiator
Americannoun
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a person or thing that differentiates.
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Computers. an electronic device whose output signal is proportional to the derivative of its input signal.
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Electricity, Electronics. a transducer or circuit differentiatorcircuit whose output is proportional to the rate of change of the input signal.
Etymology
Origin of differentiator
First recorded in 1885–90; differentiate + -or 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The rocket-launching business alone is a strong differentiator.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
"The major differentiator was starting with a clean sheet of paper. That was the secret sauce," explains Mr Hogan.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
For Nebius, Liani believes the company’s distributed virtualization layer, which connects GPUs across multiple locations to create a unified cluster, is a “structural long-term differentiator and one of the company’s most defensible advantages.”
From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026
It added a strengthened digital presence anchored by CarMax’s physical store footprint should be a differentiator in the industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Besides the action of the thyroid as energizer, lubricator, and growth catalyzer, it has a remarkable power as a differentiator of tissues.
From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
