observer
Americannoun
-
observers
plural
-
someone or something that observes.
-
a delegate to an assembly or gathering, who is sent to observe and report but not to take part officially in its activities.
-
U.S. Air Force.
-
a member of an aircrew, other than the pilot, holding an aeronautical rating.
-
a person who maintains observation in an aircraft during flight.
-
-
Also called air observer,. Also called aircraft observer. U.S. Army. a person who serves in an aircraft as a reconnoiterer and directs artillery fire.
noun
-
a person or thing that observes
-
a person who attends a conference solely to note the proceedings
-
a person trained to identify aircraft, esp, formerly, a member of an aircrew
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of observer
Explanation
An observer is someone who watches or pays attention to something — if you're an observer of current events, you probably watch the news and read the newspaper every day to keep up with what's going on. You can be an accidental observer of something, like pedestrians who happen to witness an accident and become observers of it. Another kind of observer is one who notices things deliberately, like political observers who watch and comment on various events. Many newspapers once had the word observer in their names, from this second sense of the word. The verb observe has a Latin root, observare, which means "watch over, note, heed, or attend to."
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:
Reinhold Lopatka, head of the European Parliament's election observer delegation, described the suspension as "disproportionate".
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
And any observer would count Caldentey as among the very best.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Attending World Cup matches as a fan and behind-the-scenes observer, Harper was impressed by the transportation services provided by L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
I’d planned to attend the gathering as an observer, a journalist who covers careers and management, comfortable that my notebook and pen separated me from the others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
And though few of them have met before, by the time the plats principaux are cleared, an observer would have thought that they had known each other for ages.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
In November 2025, a faction of the party, which observers say represented the majority of members, held a contentious national convention in Ibadan, Oyo state, despite court orders attempting to stop it.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
In Spain, however, observers were treated to something different.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
This is the advice of many observers, including Citi’s global macro research team led by Dirk Willer.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Political observers also expect two of the Democrats running statewide this year, Jolly for governor and Nixon for Senate, to lose.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
The theory of relativity says that the laws of physics appear the same to observers moving at different speeds.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
