separator

American  

[sep-uh-rey-ter] / ˈsɛp əˌreɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that separates.

2. any of various apparatus for separating one thing from another, as cream from milk, steam from water, or wheat from chaff.

3. Electricity. a device that prevents metal contact between plates of opposite charge in a storage battery.

4. Machinery. retainer.

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separator British  

/ ˈsɛpəˌreɪtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that separates

2. a device for separating things into constituent parts, as milk into cream, etc

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Other Word Forms

• preseparator noun
• separatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of separator

1600–10; < Late Latin sēparātor, equivalent to Latin sēparā ( re ) to separate + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

The South Korean lithium-battery separator supplier is facing persistent risks from a slowdown in U.S. electric-vehicle demand, the Daiwa analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025

Now the Chinese SemCorp separator foil factory and the Chinese EcoPro cathode plant have sprung up too.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2024

“That’s kind of what’s been our separator this year a little bit, is how we handled tough situations. We thrive in those situations where we’re counted out because we’ve all been there.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2023

Believing racism an insufficient catch-all descriptor for such societal violence, she develops a thesis that caste — the hierarchical, legally enforced separator of peoples typically associated with India — connects oppressive states everywhere.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2023

Through the separator between the shell and cab, he can see the motionless shoulders of the Neumanns.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr