author

[ aw-ther ]

/ ˈɔ θər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR author ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.

the literary production or productions of a writer: to find a passage in an author.

the maker of anything; creator; originator: the author of a new tax plan.

Computers. the writer of a software program, especially a hypertext or multimedia application.

verb (used with object)

to write; be the author of: He authored a history of the Civil War.

to originate; create a design for: She authored a new system for teaching chemistry.

QUIZZES

WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM

Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.

Question 1 of 9

“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of author

1250–1300; earlier auct(h)or<Latin auctor writer, progenitor, equivalent to aug(ēre) to increase, augment + -tor-tor; replacing Middle English auto(u)r<Anglo-French, for Old French autor<Latin, as above

OTHER WORDS FROM author

au·tho·ri·al

[aw-thawr-ee-uhl, aw-thohr-], /ɔˈθɔr i əl, ɔˈθoʊr-/, adjectiveau·thor·less, adjectivemul·ti·au·thored, adjectivepro·au·thor, adjective

Words nearby author

authenticate, authentication, authenticator, authenticity, authigenic, author, author catalog, authoress, authoring, authoritarian, authoritarian personality

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for author

In more than 7,500 of 10,000 simulations, Democrat Hubert Humphrey, a lead author of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, defeated Republican Richard Nixon, one of the architects of the modern war on drugs and national “tough-on-crime” politics.
Violent protests against police brutality in the ’60s and ’90s changed public opinion|German Lopez|August 28, 2020|Vox
The authors have plenty of cred in the world of running science.
Stop Counting Your Running Mileage|Alex Hutchinson|August 28, 2020|Outside Online
While that uptick may seem small, it’s actually “significant and somewhat alarming,” the report’s authors point out.
Don’t click that Zoom invitation!|rhhackettfortune|August 19, 2020|Fortune
In fact, when the authors tested more than one person, they found some talkers produced five times more droplets than others.
4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study|Jonathan Lambert|August 12, 2020|Science News

Despite women making up 30% of first-year PhD students in more than 40 economics programs in the US, only 17% of the papers published in the top five academic journals have women authors, economist Caroline Krafft’s research shows.
Only 17% of the studies published in top economics journals are by women|Karen Ho|August 5, 2020|Quartz
The Amazon biography for an author named Papa Faal mentions both Gambia and lists a military record that matches the FBI report.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Author J.K. Rowling says all religions are present at her beloved wizard school—except Wiccans.
Harry Potter and the Torah of Terror|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
E.J. Graff, senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, is the author of What Is Marriage For?
The Real Story Behind the Fight for Marriage Equality|E.J. Graff|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I resisted it, though I was immediately told by someone in the group that the author reminded him of me.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination|Mindy Farabee|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She is the author of Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press).
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism|Louise I. Shelley|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jacob was the author both of commentaries and of scholia on the sacred books; of these specimens are given by Assemani and Wright.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 1|Various
Whether the former gives a dryer product or not, the author cannot decide.
Peat and its Uses as Fertilizer and Fuel|Samuel William Johnson
He is even the author of a work aimed deliberately at us, and entitled Der Tug.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 148, February 10, 1915|Various
The author was the most delightful and entertaining of literary men of our time, Mr. James Payn.
The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 (of 2)|Harry Furniss
The existence of a devil—a creature made by God, and the author of evil that will exist forever.
Handbook of Freethought|Various

British Dictionary definitions for author

author

/ (ˈɔːθə) /

noun

a person who composes a book, article, or other written workRelated adjective: auctorial

a person who writes books as a profession; writer

the writings of such a personreviewing a postwar author

an originator or creatorthe author of this plan

verb (tr)

to write or originate

Derived forms of author

authorial (ɔːˈθɔːrɪəl), adjective

Word Origin for author

C14: from Old French autor, from Latin auctor author, from augēre to increase

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

author

noun

verb (used with object)

QUIZZES

WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM

Origin of author

OTHER WORDS FROM author

Words nearby author

Example sentences from the Web for author

British Dictionary definitions for author

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of author

Word Origin for author

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

author

noun

verb (used with object)

QUIZZES

WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM

Origin of author

OTHER WORDS FROM author

Words nearby author

Content related to author

Words related to author

Example sentences from the Web for author

British Dictionary definitions for author

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of author

Word Origin for author