arbitrator
Americannoun
Usage
What is an arbitrator? An arbitrator is an independent, impartial third party that works to settle a dispute between two opposing sides, often by making a decision that they both agree to. This process is called arbitration. For a process to be considered arbitration, it must involve an arbitrator, which can be a single person or a team of people. To act as an arbitrator is to arbitrate. Arbitrate can also mean to try to settle a dispute through arbitration, as in If we can’t come to an agreement, we may need to arbitrate. The terms arbitrator and arbitration are especially used in the context of negotiations between businesses and labor unions. When the two sides can’t agree and negotiations are unproductive, they may seek to pursue arbitration by bringing in an arbitrator. An arbitration process in which the arbitrator’s decision must be accepted by both parties is sometimes called binding arbitration—meaning the arbitrator’s decision is final and legally binding. Example: After weeks of negotiations stalled and resulted in an impasse, the two sides agreed to bring in an arbitrator.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of arbitrator
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English arbitratour, from Late Latin, from Latin arbitrātor; equivalent to arbitrate + -tor
Compare meaning
How does arbitrator compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An arbitrator is someone who helps resolve a dispute. If you and your sibling are butting heads over whose turn it is to clean the bathroom, you may need the assistance of an arbitrator. In legal terms, an arbitrator is the impartial judge of a case settled outside of a courtroom. Their job is to carefully consider both sides and make a decision, without the expense and time involved in going before an actual judge or jury. As a neutral decider whose decision is authoritative, an umpire or referee is another good example of an arbitrator. The Latin root of arbitrator is arbiter, "judge."
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:
Last week, an arbitrator overturned that decision and ordered the school to reinstate the tenured professor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
The lawsuit comes a week after an arbitrator ordered the university to reinstate the tenured professor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
A Meta representative traveled to Wales for the festival and the company requested that the arbitrator sanction her for the event, according to the complaint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Court filings this week revealed that an arbitrator has provisionally awarded Paulson nearly $48 million from Ghaffar related to a portion of their dispute.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Martial law enabled the army to assume the functions of arbitrator in the controversy, but no effort at conciliation was made.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
But the bank said arbitrators punished it for “truthfully advising the investing community about Bodner’s misconduct, while rewarding a wrongdoer whose claims would fail as a matter of law in any other forum.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Those challenges have allowed a few cases to proceed in state court, where jurors are often perceived as being friendlier to homeowners than private arbitrators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
The court will re-examine the case, typically with a panel of three arbitrators who go over the evidence and can either uphold, overturn, or modify the ban given out by the FA.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
The courts are therefore deprived of a massive number of cases which could help shape and further consumer law were courts allowed to consider those matters instead of arbitrators.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2026
In August 1265 Henry III. appointed him chancellor of England, and he was one of the arbitrators who drew up the dictum de Kenilworth in 1266.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1 "Gichtel, Johann" to "Glory" by Various
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.
