commentator
Americannoun
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a person who discusses news, sports events, weather, or the like, as on television or radio.
-
a person who makes commentaries.
noun
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a person who provides a spoken commentary for a broadcast, film, etc, esp of a sporting event
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a person who writes notes on a text, event, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of commentator
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin commentātor interpreter, equivalent to commentā ( rī ) to interpret ( Latin: to think about, prepare, discuss, write, perhaps frequentative of comminīscī to devise; see comment) + Latin -tor -tor
Explanation
A person who analyzes and discusses topics in politics and sports is called a commentator. If you want to hear opinions on the news rather than the news itself, listen to commentators. A reporter delivers the news and a commentator analyzes it, sometimes within the same news program. If you're a top sports commentator, you may become an even bigger household name than the players you are discussing, and you may pull in just as much money too. Political commentators, who often offer more opinion rather than analysis, are also sometimes called pundits or talking heads.
Vocabulary lists containing commentator
myPerspectives 10.2
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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.
See Examples For:
"That episode illustrates his decisiveness and strong ethical standards," political commentator Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Some viewers were fascinated with Argentine sports commentator Andrés Cantor’s elongated “¡gooool!” cheer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
His first prompted the famous line from BBC commentator David Coleman: "Goals pay the rent - and Keegan does his share."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
When progressive political commentator Keith Edwards recently turned the New York City Pride March into a two-hour livestream of queer joy, he put a name on what he was doing.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
He was supposed to be an impartial commentator, listening in on the debate between Salviati and Simplicio and raising points for discussion—but the character increasingly tended to support Salviati against Simplicio.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Intervention, according to some commentators can only go so far, though.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
"It would be a mistake to imagine a youth movement or a Gen Z movement - these are only convenient myths for commentators."
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Often, commentators first clarify that they’re open to questioning narratives before arguing that this specific narrative shouldn’t be questioned.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Its quality is a credit to author David Sager, musician and scholar, and to commentators Gaye Todd Adegbalola and Dom Flemons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
It is hard to believe the poverty the radio commentators keep talking about.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
