noun
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a device for setting the automatic stops that locate the column margins on a typewriter
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computing a machine that reads data from one medium, such as punched cards, producing lists, tabulations, or totals, usually on a continuous sheet of paper
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any machine that tabulates data
Etymology
Origin of tabulator
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.
London-based PwC is one of the world’s largest accounting and professional services firms, perhaps best known publicly as the official tabulator of votes for Hollywood’s annual Academy Awards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
The warrant served on the Fulton County election center sought ballots, tabulator tapes, digital data and voter rolls, which it alleged might constitute “evidence of the commission of a criminal offense.”
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2026
A brief, tense exchange flared when Woodall-Vogg opened a panel on one tabulator, bumping the power cord and inadvertently unplugging it.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 2022
The worker is seen telling voters that if their ballot is rejected, they can have the ballot read manually or in a tabulator later.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
At the time, a publication called the Electrical Engineer remarked that the tabulator bested even divine speeds.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
