orator
Americannoun
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a person who delivers an oration; a public speaker, especially one of great eloquence.
Demosthenes was one of the great orators of ancient Greece.
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Law. a plaintiff in a case in a court of equity.
noun
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a public speaker, esp one versed in rhetoric
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a person given to lengthy or pompous speeches
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obsolete the claimant in a cause of action in chancery
Other Word Forms
- oratorlike adjective
- oratorship noun
Etymology
Origin of orator
1325–75; < Latin ōrātor speaker, suppliant, equivalent to ōrā ( re ) ( see oration) + -tor -tor; replacing Middle English oratour < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Explanation
A person giving a speech is called an orator, like the gifted orator who raised excellent points, making everyone in the audience want to join his revolution. The noun orator traces back to the Latin word orare, meaning to “speak before a court or assembly, plead.” Orator is really just a formal way of saying “speaker.” Technically, you can use it to describe anyone who is giving a speech, whether it’s a speaker at the United Nations or a classmate giving a short presentation. However, orator often implies that the speaker is particularly gifted.
Vocabulary lists containing orator
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Ancient Greece - Introductory
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"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" Vocabulary from the autobiography
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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.
Handsome and dynamic, an orator with a flair for memorable rhyme, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was the first Black candidate for president to attract a major following.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026
A gifted orator, Jackson articulated the frustrations of those who felt like second-class citizens in the world's most prosperous democracy.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech exemplified his prowess as an orator.
From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026
He was the namesake of the boxer later known as Muhammad Ali, whose ancestors had been enslaved by the white Cassius’s cousin Henry Clay, the antebellum orator and senator.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
The answer, as historians tell us, has to do with a perfect storm of place, time, personality, and luck: but it also has to do with his brilliance as an orator.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
