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.
In order to put a hold on this deal as soon as possible, you need an outside voice to provide perspective — a family therapist, an adviser or a mediator.
From MarketWatch
The board will also include senior figures from mediators Egypt and Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020.
From Barron's
"The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee," Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.
From Barron's
You can have a family meeting with a professional mediator, elder-law attorney and/or geriatric specialist in which you each give your suggestions, and allow your mother to express her wishes.
From MarketWatch
Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Oman, which has on occasion acted as a mediator, met Araghchi in Tehran on Saturday.
From Barron's
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.
