tabulator

American  

[tab-yuh-lay-ter] / ˈtæb jəˌleɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that tabulates.

2. tab.

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tabulator British  

/ ˈtæbjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a device for setting the automatic stops that locate the column margins on a typewriter

2. 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

3. any machine that tabulates data

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Etymology

Origin of tabulator

First recorded in 1880–85; tabulate + -or ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tabulator

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

Many cities and townships now can run absentee ballots through tabulator machines starting eight days before the election.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

The county had provided a backup system that allowed voters to drop ballots in a secure box to be processed at a different location rather than by the tabulator on site.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022

She said that she is gathering information on voters who had to wait in long lines and those who may have experienced ballot tabulator malfunctions.

From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2022

The Hollerith tabulator was the work of Herman Hollerith, who incorporated the Tabulating Machine Company at the end of the nineteenth century.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

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