translator

American  

[trans-lay-ter, tranz-, trans-lay-ter, tranz-] / trænsˈleɪ tər, trænz-, ˈtræns leɪ tər, ˈtrænz- /

noun

• translators
  plural

1. Also translater a person who translates.

2. Television. a relay station that receives programming on one frequency and rebroadcasts it at another frequency for improved local reception.

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translator British  

/ trænsˈleɪtə, trænz- /

noun

1. a person or machine that translates speech or writing

2. radio a relay transmitter that retransmits a signal on a carrier frequency different from that on which it was received

3. computing a computer program that converts a program from one language to another

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• translatorial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• translators
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of translator

1350–1400; Middle English translatour (< Middle French ) < Late Latin translātor ( Latin: “one who transfers a thing”); see translate, -tor

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Explanation

A translator is someone who conveys material communicated in one language such as English into another language — like French, Chinese, or Spanish — without losing the literal meaning or nuances of the original work. Ideally, a translator is fluent in at least two languages, so they can translate what is being said in one language into another language without changing its original meaning. The Latin root of translator is translatus, which means "carried over," and a translator who's good at her job carries the meaning over into a completely different language.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

translator translators

"I reject this document entirely," Maduro said in Spanish through a translator.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The former translator has been deeply impacted by AI.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

The book shows Edgeworth as a gifted translator of economic ideas, carrying the arguments of Smith, Malthus and Ricardo to readers young and old who would never open a treatise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Anne Carson, the Canadian poet, essayist, professor of classics and translator, has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in literature.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

I learned that Anatole is more than a teacher of schoolboys and translator of sermons.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Bondi’s memo also threw shade by implication at the use of human translators, while boosting A.I.:

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

The men, wearing grey tracksuits, stood in the dock of court five and spoke through translators only to confirm their name, date of birth and addresses.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Because magnons naturally interact with many different quantum systems, they could also act as universal translators, allowing technologies that normally cannot communicate with one another to work together.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

Others who may fall into this at-risk category include language translators and some middle managers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

We rarely had translators to help us navigate anything, unless we had an official meeting of some sort.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

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Related Words

• linguist

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