mediator
Americannoun
-
mediators
plural
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mediator
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Anglo-French mediatur, Old French mediatour, from Latin mediātor “go-between, intermediary”; see mediate, -tor
Explanation
A mediator is a person who helps negotiate between two feuding parties. When a married couple is considering getting divorced, they sometimes hire a mediator to help them come to an agreement, and possibly even avoid divorce. The word mediator goes back to the Latin word medius, which means middle. A mediator is supposed to remain in the neutral middle rather than taking one side over another, in order to help both sides resolve a dispute. Mediators negotiate between employers and employees, disputing couples, and in schools helping kids work out their conflicts peacefully rather than fighting on the playground or lunchroom.
Vocabulary lists containing mediator
Interpreter of Maladies
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The Lost Hero
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How Dare the Sun Rise
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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:
Pakistan, which didn’t come under attack in the war but briefly exchanged fire with Iran in 2024, emerged as the leading mediator between Washington and Tehran early in the conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran and sees the benefit of life at the center of things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Friday that a Qatari delegation was visiting Iran to "try to reinforce Qatar's role as a mediator".
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
It was "a reminder that our stories are seen, that welcome is not just a word but an act of humanity", said Abdourahman, now a cultural mediator with the International Rescue Committee.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Stith, an up-and-coming member of Durham’s black elite and a personal friend of Greenberg’s, saw himself as the best-qualified mediator.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Experts and mediators said he might be able to help Iran speak with a more unified voice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Treasury yields were mixed as mediators in the Middle East worked on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Reopening of the strait has been a key point in discussions between the two countries and mediators.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
No details about the potential agreement between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz have been released by the two countries or the mediators.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress—to the future.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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.
