-ator

American  

1. a combination of -ate and -or that forms nouns corresponding to verbs ending in -ate1 ,denoting a human agent (agitator; mediator; adjudicator ) or nonhuman entity, especially a machine (incubator; regulator; vibrator ) performing the function named by the verb.

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-ator British  

suffix

1. a person or thing that performs a certain action

   agitator

   escalator

   radiator

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Etymology

Origin of -ator

< Latin -ātor, originally not a suffix, but the termination of nouns formed with -tor -tor from verbs whose stems ended in -ā-; in English, Latin loanwords ending in -ātor have been reanalyzed as derivatives of the past participles in -tus ( -ate ¹ ) and a suffix -or ( -or ² ), and many new English nouns derived from English verbs based on Latin past participles (e.g., vibrator from vibrate )

Example Sentences

“The joy of medicine is helping people get to better health, not the clerical activity,” said Gregory Ator, the health system’s chief medical informatics officer and surgeon.

From Washington Post

Despite his efforts, Ator projected that about 100,000 doses of the state’s stockpile could expire over the next three months.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

From Seattle Times

“If we have the opportunity to give the vaccine, let’s go ahead and do it,” said Robert Ator, a retired National Guard colonel who runs the state’s vaccination effort.

From Seattle Times

Like officials in many other states, Ator said he stopped ordering additional doses in April as demand dropped, and he has since shifted to repackaging doses in smaller quantities for distribution to drugstores and doctors’ offices.

From Seattle Times

“We have had to bring in more vaccine. For the first time in two and a half months, we are making a new large-scale order, said Col. Robert Ator, who heads the state’s vaccine effort. “People are scared.”

From Washington Post