actor
noun
a person who acts in stage plays, motion pictures, television broadcasts, etc.
actor
1 American
[ak-ter]
/ ˈæk tər /
noun
-
actors
plural
-
a person who acts in stage plays, motion pictures, television broadcasts, etc.
-
a person who does something; participant.
Actor
2
American
[ak-ter]
/ ˈæk tər /
noun
Classical Mythology.
actor
British
/ ˈæktə /
noun
-
a person who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
-
informal a person who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others (often in the phrase bad actor )
Usage
The term actor is almost universally used nowadays to refer to people of either gender who act
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of actor
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin āctor, equivalent to āg- ( see act) + -tor -tor
Explanation
If you act in a play, whether it's written by Shakespeare or your little brother, you can call yourself an actor. Some actors make films, and others are on TV. Traditionally, the noun actor referred to a male performer, while actress was used to describe a female. These days, it's become more common to use actor for players of any gender. You can also use the word to describe someone who participates in some action, or makes things happen in a particular area: "She was a real actor in the labor movement." In Latin, actor means both "doer" and "theatrical player."
Vocabulary lists containing actor
Academy Awards, List 3
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Just Do It: Act
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Literary Terms, Part I
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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:
The actor said she was approached by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to ask if she would voice the personal assistant function; she declined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
When Miller saw a comment from actor Antonio Cipriano, saying he "needed this song", he sent him a message suggesting he feature on a recording – then "panicked" and added "haha, joking".
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
After the Covid-19 pandemic, actor Ben Foster decided to chase a slower life in Nashville.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
But they knew they wanted an actor who could be, at once, charming and scary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“The real Morpho actor and artist are coming here to Bayport? This weekend?”
From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Actor Josh Brolin has sold his sprawling Sandy Springs, Ga., estate for $4 million—a final sale price falling just under $1 million less than the original asking price of $4.999 million.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Actor Florence Pugh, Jaguar’s newly minted brand ambassador, schmoozed with design journalists, bloggers and online creators at a party later Tuesday to promote the Type 01.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Actor Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Special Agent Nick Torres on CBS’ long-running procedural “NCIS,” has chased bad guys all across Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Actor Catherine Zeta-Jones says she based her performance in the new series Kill Jackie on people she knows in Wales.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Actor A had violated the rule of agreement.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
The company uses AI to generate backgrounds, visual effects, and synthetic humans for its slate of films, but a lot of the performances are shot on soundstages across L.A. using actors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Ortiz’s commitment to specificity extended to the family casting, intentionally matching the actors to the real-life relatives they are based on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
As the Babydoll dance took hold of social media, Miller collaborated with an array of stars including actors Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lucy Hale and Julianne Hough, as well as popstar Meghan Trainor.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
In a letter to director general Matt Brittin, actors, writers, directors and sound engineers argued that moving recordings away from the Midlands would have a "tangible impact" on the programme.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He did show nervousness before a game, as certain great actors show stage fright before a demanding performance, but this state of anxiety shouldn’t be confused with fear.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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