effector

American  

[ih-fek-ter] / ɪˈfɛk tər /

noun

1. Also effecter a person or thing that effects.

2. Physiology. an organ or cell that carries out a response to a nerve impulse.

3. Biochemistry. a substance, as a hormone, that increases or decreases the activity of an enzyme.

4. end effector.

   The device has three arms with effectors that can grip and pick up objects.

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effector British  

/ ɪˈfɛktə /

noun

1. physiol a nerve ending that terminates in a muscle or gland and provides neural stimulation causing contraction or secretion

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Etymology

Origin of effector

1595–1605; < Latin, equivalent to effec-, variant stem of efficere ( see effect) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

The researchers also discovered that genes responsible for these bacterial effector proteins are more common in the gut microbiomes of people with Crohn's disease.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

Only when the parental cell's T-cell receptor managed a Goldilocks middle-ground binding strength were cancer-killing effector cells created.

From Science Daily • May 30, 2024

"If we can figure out how to direct this new lymphocyte population to differentiate into a protective effector cell, it could help the host get rid of the Leishmania parasite."

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

These findings suggest that ATP and histidine act as effector molecules that trigger structural conformational changes in the ribozyme, which further influence enzyme stability and activity.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024

It is used in this sense at Cic Tusc I 70 'haec igitur et alia innumerabilia cum cernimus, possumusne dubitare quin iis praesit aliquis uel effector ... uel ... moderator tanti operis et muneris?',

From The Last Poems of Ovid by Akrigg, Mark Bear