controller
Americannoun
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an employee, often an officer, of a business firm who checks expenditures, finances, etc.; comptroller.
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a person who regulates, directs, or restrains.
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British Aeronautics. a dispatcher.
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a regulating mechanism; governor.
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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.
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Digital Technology. a remote piece of hardware used to direct or control an electronic device.
a video game controller.
noun
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a person who directs, regulates, or restrains
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Also called: comptroller. a business executive or government officer who is responsible for financial planning, control, etc
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the equipment concerned with controlling the operation of an electrical device
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of controller
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English countrollour, from Anglo-French countrero(u)llour, Middle French contrerolleur, equivalent to contrerolle “duplicate roll” + -eur, -our, from Latin -ōr- or -ātōr- noun suffixes; see control, -or 2, -ator
Explanation
The device that's used to operate a tool or machine is a controller. When you play video games, you move your character around on screen using a joystick or controller. A controller is any object or person that controls something. An air traffic controller is a person who usually works in a control tower at an airport and is in charge of monitoring and directing pilots to make sure planes take off and land safely. Another kind of human controller, also known as a comptroller, is the person in charge of accounting and finances at a business or organization. These controllers have the important job of being in control of the money.
Vocabulary lists containing controller
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:
Audits by the county auditor-controller, city controller and an outside consulting firm found the agency wasn’t tracking how money was spent or whether housing providers complied with government contracts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The captain decided to return to the Spanish island about 30 minutes after departure "due to the danger" the fight "posed to the safety of the flight", the air traffic controller said.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
His best game in possession was against Argentina, but if England are to get over the line in a major tournament they will need him to be more of a controller.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Thanks, we need it,” a controller responded, according to audio from the app ATC.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The FAA controller in the radar room called up frantically to Brown.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
He added that "good pest controllers always, always kill them in a humane manner".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
After his flight was shifted to Teterboro’s tower for air-traffic responsibilities, a pilot wished controllers good luck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Before the incident, controllers can be heard warning of the presence of fireworks.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Philadelphia-based Fort Robotics makes controllers and software that process information from multiple sources to let humanoids take nuanced actions, said Samuel Reeves, the company’s chief executive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
“We had just crossed the Chesapeake Bay and I did not want to have to deal with Philadelphia’s busy air traffic controllers, so I descended to stay out of their jurisdiction and headed for Trenton.”
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
