separator
Americannoun
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a person or thing that separates.
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any of various apparatus for separating one thing from another, as cream from milk, steam from water, or wheat from chaff.
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Electricity. a device that prevents metal contact between plates of opposite charge in a storage battery.
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Machinery. retainer.
noun
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a person or thing that separates
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a device for separating things into constituent parts, as milk into cream, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of separator
1600–10; < Late Latin sēparātor, equivalent to Latin sēparā ( re ) to separate + -tor -tor
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.
“He’s had good outings, he’s chewed up a lot of innings. But when you can get the swing-and-miss in the zone, that’s kind of a separator for any pitcher.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
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
In this study, a PP separator was modified in several ways.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 25, 2024
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
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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.