mediator
Americannoun
Usage
What does mediator mean? A mediator is a person who mediates—helps to settle a dispute or create agreement when there is conflict between two or more people or groups by acting as an intermediary or go-between for those parties. The act or process of mediating is called mediation. Mediation always involves a mediator acting as an impartial third party to guide the communication between the conflicting parties. Sometimes, mediation happens in an informal way. You might act as a mediator for two friends by mediating their argument. But the word is perhaps most commonly used in more specific ways in formal situations, such as when a mediator mediates a labor dispute between a company and its striking employees or when a mediator mediates a divorce for two spouses. When mediation occurs in an official or legal context, such as when it has been ordered by a judge, it is often called arbitration and is performed by an arbitrator. Arbitration usually involves a decision that the parties are bound by. Mediation is typically less formal and usually involves suggestions for settling differences, as opposed to binding decisions. Example: I know you two have your differences, so I’d like to act as a mediator while you talk it out and try to come to an understanding.
Other Word Forms
- mediatorship noun
- undermediator noun
Etymology
Origin of mediator
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Anglo-French mediatur, Old French mediatour, from Latin mediātor “go-between, intermediary”; mediate, -tor
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.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator in the conflict, said on X that “violations” of the cease-fire had been reported and urged “restraint and respect” so that diplomacy can continue.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
"There are different statements coming out of Iran, from Washington and from the Pakistani mediator," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Its success in selling itself to Washington as a potential mediator has given it renewed diplomatic clout that India must now work to counter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
After China took up the mantel as mediator, the two sides agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Whereas at school the primary mediator was Christ, at home that role was assumed by the Mexican Virgin, Nuestra Seriora de Guadalupe, the focus of devotion and pride for Mexican Catholics.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
