director

American  

[dih-rek-ter, dahy-] / dɪˈrɛk tər, daɪ- /

noun

• directors
  plural

1. a person or thing that directs.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

2. one of a group of persons chosen to control or govern the affairs of a company or corporation.

   a board of directors.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

3. the person responsible for the interpretive aspects of a stage, film, or television production; the person who supervises the integration of all the elements, as acting, staging, and lighting, required to realize the writer's conception.

4. the musical conductor of an orchestra, chorus, etc.

5. the manager or chief executive of certain schools, institutes, government bureaus, etc.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

6. Military. a mechanical or electronic device that continuously calculates firing data for use against an airplane or other moving target.

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director British  

/ dɪˈrɛktə, daɪ- /

noun

1. a person or thing that directs, controls, or regulates

2. a member of the governing board of a business concern who may or may not have an executive function

3. a person who directs the affairs of an institution, trust, educational programme, etc

4. the person responsible for the artistic and technical aspects of making a film or television programme Compare producer

5. music another word (esp US) for conductor

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• directorship
  noun
• directress
  noun
• predirector
  noun
• self-director
  noun
• subdirector
  noun
• subdirectorship
  noun
• directorial
  adjective
• directorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• directors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of director

From Late Latin, dating back to 1470–80; see origin at direct, -tor

Explanation

A director is a person who is in charge of something important. The advertising director for a large company is the head of the department that places ads in newspapers and on TV. Businesses have directors, and movies and plays also have directors, who oversee the way the actors deliver their lines and interpret the script. An orchestra's conductor can also be called a "musical director," and much like a film director, she guides the musicians and supervises their performance. The Latin root, dirigere, means "set straight."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

director directors

Oldest brother Thomas is the baseball coach and athletic director at Calabasas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

In order to receive federal funding, “we have to become compliant with the FAA standards for runway-taxiway separation,” says Aspen/Pitkin County Airport director Diane Jackson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester Research, said viewers will undoubtedly get access to a bigger catalog.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Loneliness is so connected to mental and physical health that it’s consequential,” said Richard Weissbourd, senior lecturer and faculty director for the Making Caring Common Project, a program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Reshevsky paced up and down, a few spectators waited patiently, and when the little red flag fell precisely at noon, the tournament director declared the game a forfeit.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

But as time went on, he found that directors were always casting him in roles that required him to play an instrument, so he decided to make music his main focus.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Obviously the company’s board of directors thinks the stock is a bargain.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

Whitesides co-founded nonprofit organization Megafire Action to advocate for policy solutions to prevent massive wildfires and served as a member of the Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise board of directors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The amended merger agreement also removes a requirement that ON Semiconductor appoints a member of Synaptics’ board of directors to its own board.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

After two weeks of deliberation the fair’s directors accepted the eight-hour day but said they’d think about the rest.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• administrator
• chief
• executive
• head
• leader
• organizer
• player
• principal
• producer
• supervisor