operator

/ˌɑpəˈreɪdər/

/ˈɒpəreɪtə/

Other forms: 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

1. noun

   an agent that operates some apparatus or machine
   “the operator of the switchboard”

   synonyms: manipulator

   types:

   company operator

   an operator who works for a company

   driver

   the operator of a motor vehicle

   elevator operator

   an operator of an elevator

   engine driver, engineer, locomotive engineer, railroad engineer

   the operator of a railway locomotive

   hoister

   an operator of a hoist

   jockey

   an operator of some vehicle or machine or apparatus

   motorman

   the operator of streetcar

   radio operator

   someone who operates a radio transmitter

   switchman

   a man who operates railroad switches

   telegraph operator, telegrapher, telegraphist

   someone who transmits messages by telegraph

   switchboard operator, telephone operator, telephonist

   someone who helps callers get the person they are calling

   bus driver, busman

   someone who drives a bus

   chauffeur

   a man paid to drive a privately owned car

   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

   elevator girl

   a girl employed to operate an elevator

   elevator boy, elevator man, liftman

   a man employed to operate an elevator

   ham

   a licensed amateur radio operator

   honker

   a driver who causes his car's horn to make a loud honking sound

   kerb crawler

   someone who drives slowly along the curb seeking sex from prostitutes or other women

   automobilist, motorist

   someone who drives (or travels in) an automobile

   owner-driver

   a motorist who owns the car that he/she drives

   automobile driver, race driver, racer

   someone who drives racing cars at high speeds

   road hog, roadhog

   a driver who obstructs others

   speed demon, speeder

   a driver who exceeds the safe speed limit

   tailgater

   a driver who follows too closely behind another motor vehicle

   cabby, cabdriver, cabman, hack driver, hack-driver, livery driver, taxidriver, taximan

   someone who drives a taxi for a living

   teamster, truck driver, trucker

   someone who drives a truck as an occupation

   test driver

   a driver who drives a motor vehicle to evaluate its performance

   type of:

   causal agency, causal agent, cause

   any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results
2. noun

   someone who owns or operates a business
   “who is the operator of this franchise?”

   types:

   supermarketeer, supermarketer

   an operator of a supermarket

   type of:

   businessman, man of affairs

   a person engaged in commercial or industrial business (especially an owner or executive)
3. noun

   a speculator who trades aggressively on stock or commodity markets
   type of:

   plunger, speculator

   someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains
4. noun

   a shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficulties
   synonyms: hustler, wheeler dealer

   types:

   wire-puller

   one who uses secret influence (i.e. pulls wires or strings) for his own ends

   type of:

   opportunist, self-seeker

   a person who places expediency above principle
5. noun

   (mathematics) a symbol or function representing a mathematical operation
   types:

   linear operator

   an operator that obeys the distributive law: A(f+g) = Af + Ag (where f and g are functions)

   identity, identity element, identity operator

   an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates

   type of:

   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)