operator

[ op-uh-rey-ter ]

/ ˈɒp əˌreɪ tər /

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See synonyms for: operator / operators on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who operates a machine, apparatus, or the like: a telegraph operator.

a person who operates a telephone switchboard, especially for a telephone company.

a person who manages a working or industrial establishment, enterprise, or system: the operators of a mine.

a person who trades in securities, especially speculatively or on a large scale.

a person who performs a surgical operation; a surgeon.

Mathematics.

a symbol for expressing a mathematical operation.
a function, especially one transforming a function, set, etc., into another: a differential operator.

Informal.

a person who accomplishes goals or purposes by devious means; faker; fraud.
a person who is adroit at overcoming, avoiding, or evading difficulties, regulations, or restrictions.
a person who is extremely successful with or smoothly persuasive to potential sexual or romantic partners.

Genetics. a segment of DNA that interacts with a regulatory molecule, preventing transcription of the adjacent region.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of operator

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Late Latin, equivalent to operā(rī) “to work, effect” (see operate) + Latin -tor noun suffix (see -tor)

OTHER WORDS FROM operator

pre·op·er·a·tor, nounself-op·er·a·tor, noun

Words nearby operator

Operation Sealion, operations research, operations room, operative, operatize, operator, operatory, opera window, opercle, operculate, operculum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use operator in a sentence

I later went to New York for three years to train nuclear operators in Saratoga Springs.
Pepco employee talks diversity, inclusion, and COVID|Staff reports|August 28, 2020|Washington Blade
The plaintiffs in the new cases are essentially arguing that streaming services have more in common with cable TV operators than they do with the Internet.
Streaming fees could rise 5% as cities sue to impose a ‘Netflix tax’|Jeff|August 19, 2020|Fortune
It turned out that not all service operators had made the effort to tell users in advance.
How India became the world’s leader in internet shutdowns|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
That task falls to professional operators, experts in an individual telescope’s complex operations who still work in control rooms located on observatory mountaintops.
Social Distancing From the Stars|Emily Levesque|August 11, 2020|Quanta Magazine

An operator answering the phone referred the Blade to the direct number of the department’s Chief of Police, Andrew Block.
Brian Sims accused of threatening fellow Pa. lawmaker|Lou Chibbaro Jr.|August 9, 2020|Washington Blade
Just because two pieces of malware share a common ancestry, it obviously does not mean they share a common operator.
No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony|Marc Rogers|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wright approved one of the wells after the operator agreed to bring it into compliance, according to the letter.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Teague replied: “I have to allow an operator or plugger a way to appeal when he believes our requirements are unreasonable.”
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1881, along came Bailey, operator of another circus, and two circuses joined to give rise to the first three-ring spectacle.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus|Anthony Paletta|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had a steady job as a machine operator, and owned his own home.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was round, with a small, rectangular projection for the operator's controls and calculator.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
Again it was empty except for the operator, a tow-headed kid with a Racing Form tucked in a side pocket.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The operator who was speculating in a small way himself smiled when he read the telegram.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine|John Fox, Jr.
And as if in answer to their thoughts, the operator straightened, with a little gesture of hopelessness.
The White Desert|Courtney Ryley Cooper
At last the wire opened again, and the operator went once more to his desk.
The White Desert|Courtney Ryley Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for operator

operator

/ (ˈɒpəˌreɪtə) /

noun

a person who operates a machine, instrument, etc, esp, a person who makes connections on a telephone switchboard or at an exchange

a person who owns or operates an industrial or commercial establishment

a speculator, esp one who operates on currency or stock markets

informal a person who manipulates affairs and other people

maths any symbol, term, letter, etc, used to indicate or express a specific operation or process, such as Δ (the differential operator)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for operator

operator

[ ŏp′ə-rā′tər ]

Mathematics A function, especially one from a set to itself, such as differentiation of a differentiable function or rotation of a vector. In quantum mechanics, measurable quantities of a physical system, such as position and momentum, are related to unique operators applied to the wave equation describing the system.

A logical operator.

Genetics A segment of chromosomal DNA that regulates the activity of the structural genes of an operon by interacting with a specific repressor.

operator

Origin of operator

OTHER WORDS FROM operator

Words nearby operator

Words related to operator

How to use operator in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for operator

Scientific definitions for operator