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.

---

effector British  

/ ɪˈfɛktə /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of effector

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

Example Sentences

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

Professor Simona Stäger points out that CD4 T cells normally differentiate into effector cells from "naive" CD4 T cells.

From Science Daily • May 21, 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

The reed portion of the instrument acting alone can only express emotional feeling; the resonator, the effector of articulate speech, is the instrument of intelligence, will, and feeling.

From The Brain and the Voice in Speech and Song by Mott, F. W. (Frederick Walker)