comparator

[ kuhm-par-uh-ter, kom-puh-rey- ]

noun
  1. any of various instruments for making comparisons, as of lengths or distances, tints of colors, etc.

  2. Electronics. a circuit for comparing two signals, as readings of duplicate information stored in a digital computer, and for giving an indication of agreement or disagreement between them.

Origin of comparator

1
First recorded in 1880–85; from Late Latin comparātor “a comparer”; see compare, -tor

Words Nearby comparator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use comparator in a sentence

  • The most important of these “tricks” is the use of a “standard” or “comparator”.

    The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keisch
  • The lieutenant put the retinal photos in the comparator, took a good look, and nodded.

    Unwise Child | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • Put the sample and comparator together into a reactor and bombard them with neutrons.

    The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keisch
  • In the comparator Vickers brought the corresponding standard comparison lines together.

    The Year When Stardust Fell | Raymond F. Jones

British Dictionary definitions for comparator

comparator

/ (kəmˈpærətə) /


noun
  1. any instrument used to measure a property of a system by comparing it with a standard system

  2. an electric circuit that compares two signals and gives an indication of the extent of their dissimilarity

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