translator
Americannoun
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Also translater a person who translates.
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Television. a relay station that receives programming on one frequency and rebroadcasts it at another frequency for improved local reception.
noun
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a person or machine that translates speech or writing
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radio a relay transmitter that retransmits a signal on a carrier frequency different from that on which it was received
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computing a computer program that converts a program from one language to another
Other Word Forms
- translatorial adjective
Etymology
Origin of translator
1350–1400; Middle English translatour (< Middle French ) < Late Latin translātor ( Latin: “one who transfers a thing”); translate, -tor
Explanation
A translator is someone who conveys material communicated in one language such as English into another language — like French, Chinese, or Spanish — without losing the literal meaning or nuances of the original work. Ideally, a translator is fluent in at least two languages, so they can translate what is being said in one language into another language without changing its original meaning. The Latin root of translator is translatus, which means "carried over," and a translator who's good at her job carries the meaning over into a completely different language.
Vocabulary lists containing translator
Inside Out & Back Again
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Unit 19, Lesson 4
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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.
Lakshtanov has worked as a translator in Angola since the Soviet era.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
“He became Gordon’s whisperer, his interpreter and translator, a bridge to their friends, a bridge to Gordon’s own children.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2026
Before joining the Asian Journal, Steve worked as a freelance translator in 1982, and in September 1982, he became an instructor at Athenee Francais in Tokyo.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
"It was a great day," Matsuyama said through a translator.
From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026
The authorities had provided a translator for Mollie, but she waved him off and spoke in succinct English, the way the nuns had taught her as a child.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
