director

American  

[dih-rek-ter, dahy-] / dɪˈrɛk tər, daɪ- /

noun

• directors
  plural

1. a person or thing that directs.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

2. one of a group of persons chosen to control or govern the affairs of a company or corporation.

   a board of directors.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

3. the person responsible for the interpretive aspects of a stage, film, or television production; the person who supervises the integration of all the elements, as acting, staging, and lighting, required to realize the writer's conception.

4. the musical conductor of an orchestra, chorus, etc.

5. the manager or chief executive of certain schools, institutes, government bureaus, etc.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

6. Military. a mechanical or electronic device that continuously calculates firing data for use against an airplane or other moving target.

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director British  

/ dɪˈrɛktə, daɪ- /

noun

1. a person or thing that directs, controls, or regulates

2. a member of the governing board of a business concern who may or may not have an executive function

3. a person who directs the affairs of an institution, trust, educational programme, etc

4. the person responsible for the artistic and technical aspects of making a film or television programme Compare producer

5. music another word (esp US) for conductor

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• directorship
  noun
• directress
  noun
• predirector
  noun
• self-director
  noun
• subdirector
  noun
• subdirectorship
  noun
• directorial
  adjective
• directorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• directors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of director

From Late Latin, dating back to 1470–80; see origin at direct, -tor

Explanation

A director is a person who is in charge of something important. The advertising director for a large company is the head of the department that places ads in newspapers and on TV. Businesses have directors, and movies and plays also have directors, who oversee the way the actors deliver their lines and interpret the script. An orchestra's conductor can also be called a "musical director," and much like a film director, she guides the musicians and supervises their performance. The Latin root, dirigere, means "set straight."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

director directors

But Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank, cautioned against any suggestion that Burnham's comments mark the start of a return journey.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

The study was led by Dr. Richard Kreider, professor and director of the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab at Texas A&M. Kreider has studied creatine for more than three decades.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

So the next morning, athletic director Jen Cohen met with Riley to discuss a suspension for Stephens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

“The EV price premium over ICE+ has narrowed significantly,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox’s director of industry insights, said during a webinar, referring to gas-powered cars.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

“Cut!” yelled the director as an entire film crew let out a groan of exasperation.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

According to a White House report, Washington holds veto power over NABEP's board of directors, the majority of whom must be US citizens.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

But among this year's graduates might be future coaches, executives and sporting directors who go on to influence the game in different ways.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The document includes voluntary principles such as internal controls to monitor model development, external model reviews and notifications to the board of directors about those safety efforts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Nvidia has made another big splash, with its board of directors authorizing another $150 billion in stock buybacks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Hiatt knew someone on the Lilly board of directors and hoped that the company would want to pick up favorable publicity by donating capreo to the project in Peru.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• administrator
• chief
• executive
• head
• leader
• organizer
• player
• principal
• producer
• supervisor