orator

American  

[awr-uh-ter, or-] / ˈɔr ə tər, ˈɒr- /

noun

orators plural

1. a person who delivers an oration; a public speaker, especially one of great eloquence.

   Demosthenes was one of the great orators of ancient Greece.

2. Law. a plaintiff in a case in a court of equity.

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orator British  

/ ˈɒrətə /

noun

1. a public speaker, esp one versed in rhetoric

2. a person given to lengthy or pompous speeches

3. obsolete the claimant in a cause of action in chancery

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• oratorship
  noun
• oratorlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• orators
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orator orators

A charismatic orator, the then-43-year-old found herself helming a burgeoning democracy movement, but was put under house arrest in 1989.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

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

An effective orator, Khamenei joined the critics of the Shah of Iran: the monarch who was eventually overthrown by the Islamic revolution.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

Melling became Colin, in part, because Lighton liked his work in 2018’s Western “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” where the actor played an orator with no arms or legs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

It was a monumental irony: The man famous as the indefatigable orator of independence in the Continental Congress was obliged to remain silent in the legislative councils of the new government.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

While Mr. Perl-Rosenthal skillfully charts the public philosophy of the orators, the story feels somewhat incomplete without lingering on the man who effectively codified their dissent into a national creed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

I often return to the wisdom of Frederick Douglass, a formerly enslaved person and one of this country’s greatest thinkers and orators.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2025

Luckily, he’s a once-in-a-generation political talent himself and one of the greatest orators in modern life.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2024

One book described how orators in ancient Rome would use “loci,” or reference points, to remember long passages.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2023

Like more of the great orators than one cares to mention, Cicero was not a naturally dominating presence.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• lecturer
• preacher
• public speaker