operator

American  

[op-uh-rey-ter] / ˈɒp əˌreɪ tər /

noun

• operators
  plural

1. a person who operates a machine, apparatus, or the like.

   a telegraph operator.

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

3. a person who manages a working or industrial establishment, enterprise, or system.

   the operators of a mine.

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

5. a person who performs a surgical operation; a surgeon.

6. Mathematics.

   1. a symbol for expressing a mathematical operation.

   2. a function, especially one transforming a function, set, etc., into another.

      a differential operator.

7. Informal.

   1. a person who accomplishes goals or purposes by devious means; faker; fraud.

   2. a person who is adroit at overcoming, avoiding, or evading difficulties, regulations, or restrictions.

   3. a person who is extremely successful with or smoothly persuasive to potential sexual or romantic partners.

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

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operator British  

/ ˈɒpəˌreɪtə /

noun

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

2. a person who owns or operates an industrial or commercial establishment

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

4. informal a person who manipulates affairs and other people

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

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operator Scientific  

/ ŏp′ə-rā′tər /

1. 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.

2. A logical operator.

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preoperator
  noun
• self-operator
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• operators
  plural

Etymology

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)

Explanation

An operator is a person who runs a machine, equipment, or a vehicle. If you want to be a jackhammer operator some day, you might hope to work on a road crew of for a construction company. An operator operates, or controls, something. You could be a radio operator, a heavy machinery operator, or even a telephone operator — or you can be the operator, or manager, of a business. If you start your own dog walking company, you can call yourself an "owner-operator." The Latin root of both operator and operate is operari, "to work," and "to cause."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

operator operators

A Palestinian Civil Defense worker climbs onto a piece of heavy machinery to assist the operator in directing the recovery effort in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood on July 19.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

FreshFarm, a Washington, D.C.-area market operator, has seen a 30% increase in average foot traffic since early July.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

The venue's future was plunged into doubt when operator Capital Theatres came close to running out of money due to the soaring cost of its renovation.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Gavin de Becker, a security consultant for celebrities whose firm originally developed the terminal, has leveled serious accusations against the current operator.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

For a second, I worry the operator will ask where my parents are, but she doesn’t.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

At first human operators were commonly rejecting the AI model’s recommendations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Despite this, over the past decade, he has quietly become one of the conservative legal movement’s most influential operators, making Paoletta an underrated political power in his own right.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

It is understood that the club intends to work with the stadium operators to facilitate Sullivan's attendance at games.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Seeing no evil are legions of crooked operators — customs inspectors, tax agents, military commanders, among other enablers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Nazi Enigma operators were told which settings to use—the key could be changed each day—but outsiders wouldn’t know where to begin.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

• agent
• broker
• dealer
• driver
• manager