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

See Examples For:

effector

An initiator caspase first activates the pathway, followed by effector caspases that break apart proteins inside the doomed cell.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

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

They add that knowledge of horizontal transfer mechanisms and putative donor taxa might help to design future intercropping strategies that minimize the risk of transfer of effector genes between closely related Fusarium taxa.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2024

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

The unbridged gulf between sensation and the changes produced in effector organs necessitates a separate handling of the functions of the nervous system according as their office under consideration is sensation or material effect.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various