participant
Americannoun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of participant
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin participant-, stem of participāns “sharing,” present participle of participāre “to share”; see participate
Explanation
A participant is a person who participates, or takes part in something. Vote on Election Day and you've just taken part in or become a participant in United States democracy. Participants play a role in the unfolding of events. A contestant is a participant on a game show. A football player is a participant in the sport. Someone talking is a participant in a conversation. You can sometimes be a participant without taking an active role — if you watch a crime taking place and do nothing to stop it, you might be called a passive participant.
Vocabulary lists containing participant
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Workshop 6, Part 2
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"Journeys," Vocabulary from Lesson 13
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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.
That hope is shared by trial participant Steven Barrett, who was diagnosed with MND 10 years ago.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
The average participant age was 65.2±8.5 years, and 64.9% were men.
From Science Daily • May 15, 2026
There has never been any indication that Becerra was investigated as a participant, and he has forcefully denied wrongdoing, calling it a “gut punch” that his advisers allegedly betrayed him.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
“Voters must stake UMA tokens to participate, and incorrect votes are penalized through slashing, creating strong financial disincentives to vote against a verifiable outcome regardless of any external position a participant may hold.”
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
But I wouldn’t be keeping within my experiment’s controlled variables if I used a nonhuman participant.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
