narrator

American  

[nar-ey-ter, na-rey‑, nar-uh‑] / ˈnær eɪ tər, næˈreɪ‑, ˈnær ə‑ /

Or narrater

noun

narrators plural

1. a person who gives an account or tells the story of events, experiences, etc.

2. a person who adds spoken commentary to a film, television program, slide show, etc.

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narrator British  

/ nəˈreɪtə /

noun

1. a person who tells a story or gives an account of something

2. a person who speaks in accompaniment of a film, television programme, etc

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narrator Cultural  

1. A person who tells a story; in literature, the voice that an author takes on to tell a story. This voice can have a personality quite different from the author's. For example, in his story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe makes his narrator a raving lunatic.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• narrators
  plural

Etymology

Origin of narrator

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin narrātor “narrator, historian” see narrate ( def. ), -or ² ( def. )

Explanation

A narrator is the storyteller in a book or movie. One of the most famous literary narrators is Herman Melville's Ishmael, who tells the story of Moby Dick. The narrator is the person who tells the story — in other words, she narrates it. In a fictional work, the narrator is a character who relays the story from her own perspective, which is different from the writer. If you don't trust the narrator's version of the story, you may have encountered an "unreliable narrator." The Latin root is narrare, "to tell or relate," or literally "to make acquainted with," from gnarus, "knowing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

narrator narrators

However, the show's narrator then confirmed her exit, telling viewers: "Alannah has left Casa Amor."

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Traditionally, the original series have featured one celebrity narrator as a protagonist speaking to the listener in an immersive story.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Like the narrator of the latter, he finds psychic fulfillment in becoming his own enemy, in beating himself up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

“The bond between us was never conventional,” narrator Aaron tells us.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

And what if one of them, the story’s narrator, was left behind to face the invaders?

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

She and Jackie Hoffman will be two American narrators for the show, while two British actresses perform the scenes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

Likewise, Epstein saw #MeToo as a problem to be neutralized because the success of any social movement in which women were treated as reliable narrators of their own exploitation would impede his own racket.”

From Salon ● May 23, 2026

“Dear America, if I start investing when I am 16. Nine. Seven. It could change my future. All our futures,” young narrators say.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 8, 2026

Instead of omniscient narrators, they deployed free indirect speech to reveal characters’ innermost thoughts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Most of the narrators had joined the circle around George, as had a few of the barnyard animals, who were supposed to be clucking and mooing onstage.

From "George" by Alex Gino

Related Words

• author
• chronicler
• novelist
• writer