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
Derived Forms
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.
The study also uncovered an important detail involving the Mediator Complex, a cellular structure that helps regulate gene activity.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
Mediator Qatar said they included British-Israeli and Romanian-Israeli dual nationals.
From BBC • Jan. 19, 2025
Mediator Turkey has said a deal could be signed next week.
From Reuters • Jul. 16, 2022
Mediator Eric Chickedantz told the court that the two sides had agreed on a resolution in January.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 23, 2022
If he refuse his office to any one that implores it, he would verily cease to be a Mediator.
From True Christianity by Arndt, Johann
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.
