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

"The explosion occurred after the customers and staff had evacuated," a spokesman for the mall's operator Aeon told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

At the beginning of July, about 50 protesters gathered outside of the warehouse and called for the warehouse operator to “pack up and leave” after cleaning up its mess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Niccol is a decisive leader and a seasoned operator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

MoffettNathanson analysts said that each of the three major wireless companies have to trust that their rivals won’t agree to let Starlink partner with them as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

Finally, she went to the phone and waited for the operator.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In the U.S., the proposed inspection would affect 453 airplanes, incurring a total cost on American operators of around $2.7 million before any re-installation costs, the FAA said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Such an agreement would likely spur an industrywide price war and fierce competition for customers — the main reason why the biggest three operators have vowed not to ink this sort of partnership.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

Yet many of these widows, daughters, and other female successors were also savvy political operators, leaving behind genuine legislative legacies or winning office in their own right.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Technicians, actors and camera operators still have a place in this new ecosystem, though how many of them will be needed remains an open question.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Because they had battery power, water injection had been a far easier task for the operators of unit 3 than it was for those of unit 1, but they were still improvising.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Related Words

• agent
• broker
• dealer
• driver
• manager