simulator

American  

[sim-yuh-lay-ter] / ˈsɪm jəˌleɪ tər /

noun

• simulators
  plural

1. a person or thing that simulates.

2. a machine for simulating certain environmental and other conditions for purposes of training or experimentation.

   a flight simulator.

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simulator British  

/ ˈsɪmjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. any device or system that simulates specific conditions or the characteristics of a real process or machine for the purposes of research or operator training

   space simulator

2. a person who simulates

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Usage

What does simulator mean? A simulator is a program or machine that simulates a real-life situation, meaning that it creates a virtual version of it, often for the purpose of instruction or experiment, such as a flight simulator. Simulators are frequently used to train people in complicated and often dangerous tasks, such as performing surgery or flying an airplane. Simulators allow them to learn and gain experience in such tasks without the risks. Rarely, the word is also sometimes used to refer to a person who is simulating (faking) an action. Example: This flight simulator allows pilots to become comfortable with the controls without having to do so during an actual flight.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• simulators
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of simulator

First recorded in 1825–35, simulator is from the Latin word simulātor imitator, counterfeiter. See simulate, -tor

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Explanation

A machine that creates the realistic sensation that you're operating a vehicle is a simulator. Pilots practice flying planes using simulators long before they take the controls of a jumbo jet. You can think of a simulator as a device that mimics or simulates an experience, usually making it feel so real that you'd swear you were driving a car or flying an airplane. Many simulators are used in training people to operate vehicles or machinery, while others help teach medical students how to perform surgery, inject medication, and insert breathing tubes. In Latin, simulator means "copier or feigner," from the root similis, "resembling."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

simulator simulators

He started his career at SpiceJet, said Captain Gurucharan Arora, former director of flight operations at the low-cost Indian carrier, who remembers supervising him on a simulator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Eighteen months in and we actually have a completely functional, super high-performance simulator," says Lu.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

That makes his lab's ongoing work with its "heatwave simulator" -- which he says is one of the world's only two such systems -- a race against time.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Similar to the suited "Moonikin" manikin flown aboard Orion during the uncrewed Artemis I mission, the low-fidelity simulator will send back real-time information about conditions inside the Blue Moon cabin.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

This driving simulator is telling Dr. Atchley and his collaborators something about Maggie’s relationship to technology.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Quantum simulators are especially useful for this kind of work because researchers can precisely control them and program them to imitate physical processes that occur at atomic and subatomic scales.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

These studies are small, old and were conducted with aircraft simulators rather than modern airliners.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Utilizing proprietary inference simulators and coding benchmarks, SemiAnalysis arrives at $100 billion per GW of annual recurring revenue.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

From "heatwave simulators" to ecological bootcamps, scientists and conservationists are trying ways to revive and reinforce the famous coral reefs off Japan's Okinawa, decimated by climate-driven bleaching two summers ago.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Lots of networked stock car simulators that allowed people to race each other.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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