translator
Americannoun
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Also translater a person who translates.
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Television. a relay station that receives programming on one frequency and rebroadcasts it at another frequency for improved local reception.
noun
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a person or machine that translates speech or writing
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radio a relay transmitter that retransmits a signal on a carrier frequency different from that on which it was received
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computing a computer program that converts a program from one language to another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of translator
1350–1400; Middle English translatour (< Middle French ) < Late Latin translātor ( Latin: “one who transfers a thing”); see translate, -tor
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.
Vocabulary lists containing translator
Inside Out & Back Again
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Unit 19, Lesson 4
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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.
See Examples For:
Mendel Uminer, a translator, scholar and literary-journal publisher, did not have a Collyer situation when he received a sternly worded letter from his building’s management company.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
Political consultant Igor Ratchin was sentenced to 11 years in prison and translator Lev Lakshtanov was given eight years.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The visit request had also included Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, Milei's sister Karina, who serves in his government, and a translator.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
While Betts’ miscue broke up a perfect game, Yamamoto praised his teammates after the game and said via a translator on Dodgers SportsNet that they made a few key plays that “saved me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
The translator scratches the message out in vuvv.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
France, Netherlands and the U.S. that were able to enter in the early days found themselves scrambling from neighborhood to neighborhood with no phone service or translators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 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
We were staying in the same spot; we had translators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
The decade-long trial was beset by delays due to coronavirus disruptions and problems securing translators.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Inside, the leaders sat at a long table with their teams of aides and translators.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
