operator
operators
An operator is a person who runs a machine, equipment, or a vehicle. If you want to be a jackhammer operator some day, you might hope to work on a road crew of for a construction company.
An operator operates, or controls, something. You could be a radio operator, a heavy machinery operator, or even a telephone operator — or you can be the operator, or manager, of a business. If you start your own dog walking company, you can call yourself an "owner-operator." The Latin root of both operator and operate is operari, "to work," and "to cause."
Definitions of operator
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an agent that operates some apparatus or machine“the operator of the switchboard”
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synonyms:
manipulator
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examples:
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John Luther Jones
United States railroad engineer who died trying to stop his train from crashing into another train; a friend wrote a famous ballad describing the incident (1864-1900)
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Berna Eli Oldfield
United States race driver who was the first to drive faster than a mile a minute (1878-1946)
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types:
- show 28 types...
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company operator
an operator who works for a company
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driver
the operator of a motor vehicle
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elevator operator
an operator of an elevator
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engine driver, engineer, locomotive engineer, railroad engineer
the operator of a railway locomotive
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hoister
an operator of a hoist
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jockey
an operator of some vehicle or machine or apparatus
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motorman
the operator of streetcar
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radio operator
someone who operates a radio transmitter
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switchman
a man who operates railroad switches
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telegraph operator, telegrapher, telegraphist
someone who transmits messages by telegraph
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switchboard operator, telephone operator, telephonist
someone who helps callers get the person they are calling
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bus driver, busman
someone who drives a bus
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chauffeur
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
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designated driver
the member of a party who is designated to refrain from alcohol and so is sober when it is time to drive home
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elevator girl
a girl employed to operate an elevator
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elevator boy, elevator man, liftman
a man employed to operate an elevator
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ham
a licensed amateur radio operator
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honker
a driver who causes his car's horn to make a loud honking sound
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kerb crawler
someone who drives slowly along the curb seeking sex from prostitutes or other women
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automobilist, motorist
someone who drives (or travels in) an automobile
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owner-driver
a motorist who owns the car that he/she drives
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automobile driver, race driver, racer
someone who drives racing cars at high speeds
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road hog, roadhog
a driver who obstructs others
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speed demon, speeder
a driver who exceeds the safe speed limit
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tailgater
a driver who follows too closely behind another motor vehicle
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cabby, cabdriver, cabman, hack driver, hack-driver, livery driver, taxidriver, taximan
someone who drives a taxi for a living
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teamster, truck driver, trucker
someone who drives a truck as an occupation
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test driver
a driver who drives a motor vehicle to evaluate its performance
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type of:
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causal agency, causal agent, cause
any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results
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John Luther Jones
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someone who owns or operates a business“who is the operator of this franchise?”
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types:
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supermarketeer, supermarketer
an operator of a supermarket
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type of:
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businessman, man of affairs
a person engaged in commercial or industrial business (especially an owner or executive)
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supermarketeer, supermarketer
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a speculator who trades aggressively on stock or commodity markets
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type of:
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plunger, speculator
someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains
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plunger, speculator
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a shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficulties
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synonyms:
hustler, wheeler dealer
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types:
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wire-puller
one who uses secret influence (i.e. pulls wires or strings) for his own ends
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type of:
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opportunist, self-seeker
a person who places expediency above principle
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wire-puller
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(mathematics) a symbol or function representing a mathematical operation
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types:
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linear operator
an operator that obeys the distributive law: A(f+g) = Af + Ag (where f and g are functions)
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identity, identity element, identity operator
an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates
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type of:
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function, map, mapping, mathematical function, single-valued function
(mathematics) a mathematical relation such that each element of a given set (the domain of the function) is associated with an element of another set (the range of the function)
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linear operator
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘operator'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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