controller
[ kuh n-troh-ler ]
/ kənˈtroʊ lər /
noun
an employee, often an officer, of a business firm who checks expenditures, finances, etc.; comptroller.
a person who regulates, directs, or restrains.
British Aeronautics. a dispatcher.
a regulating mechanism; governor.
Also called control unit, processor. Computers. the key component of a device, as a terminal, printer, or external storage unit, that contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute instructions fed into the device.
a remote piece of hardware used to direct or control an electronic device: a video-game controller.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
Origin of controller
Related formscon·trol·ler·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for controller
British Dictionary definitions for controller
controller
/ (kənˈtrəʊlə) /
noun
a person who directs, regulates, or restrains
Also called: comptroller a business executive or government officer who is responsible for financial planning, control, etc
the equipment concerned with controlling the operation of an electrical device
Derived Formscontrollership, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for controller
controller
late 14c., from Anglo-French contrerolleour (late 13c.), Old French contrerelleor (Modern French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrarotulator, agent noun from *contra-rotulare (see control (v.)). Mechanical sense is from 1867.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper