tabulator

American  

[tab-yuh-ley-ter] / ˈtæb jəˌleɪ tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that tabulates.

2. tab.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of tabulator

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

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

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

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

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 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