operator - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: operator

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

op·er·a·tor

Audio Help [op-uh-rey-ter] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a person who operates a machine, apparatus, or the like: a telegraph operator.

2.	a person who operates a telephone switchboard, esp. for a telephone company.

3.	a person who manages a working or industrial establishment, enterprise, or system: the operators of a mine.

4.	a person who trades in securities, esp. speculatively or on a large scale.

5.	a person who performs a surgical operation; a surgeon.

Mathematics.

a.	a symbol for expressing a mathematical operation.

b.	a function, esp. one transforming a function, set, etc., into another: a differential operator.

Informal.

a.	a person who accomplishes his or her purposes by devious means; faker; fraud.

b.	a person who is adroit at overcoming, avoiding, or evading difficulties, regulations, or restrictions.

c.	a person who is extremely successful with or smoothly persuasive to members of the opposite sex.

8.	Genetics. a segment of DNA that interacts with a regulatory molecule, preventing transcription of the adjacent region.

[Origin: 1590–1600; < LL, equiv. to operā(rī) to work, effect (see operate) + L -tor -tor

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
operator

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

op·er·a·tor Audio Help (ŏp'ə-rā'tər) Pronunciation Key
n.

One who operates a machine or device: a switchboard operator.
The owner or manager of a business or an industrial enterprise.
One who deals aggressively in stocks or commodities.
Informal A person who is adept at accomplishing goals through shrewd or unscrupulous maneuvers.
Mathematics A function, especially one from a set to itself, such as differentiation of a differentiable function or rotation of a vector.
A logical operator.
Genetics A chromosomal segment of DNA that regulates the activity of the structural genes of an operon by interacting with a specific repressor.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

operator
noun
1.	(mathematics) a symbol or function representing a mathematical operation
2.	an agent that operates some apparatus or machine; "the operator of the switchboard"
3.	someone who owns or operates a business; "who is the operator of this franchise?"
4.	a shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficulties [syn: hustler]
5.	a speculator who trades aggressively on stock or commodity markets

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ˈoperator1 noun

a person who works a machine
Example: a lift operator

Arabic:	مُشَغِّل الآلَه
Chinese (Simplified):	操作者
Chinese (Traditional):	操作者
Czech:	obsluhující pracovník
Danish:	operatør; -fører
Dutch:	degeen die een machine bedient
Estonian:	töötaja, operaator
Finnish:	käyttäjä
French:	opérateur, *-trice
German:	der, *die Führer(in)
Greek:	χειριστής
Hungarian:	kezelő
Icelandic:	vélamaður
Indonesian:	operator
Italian:	(operaio addetto a una macchina)

Japanese:	操作する人
Korean:	기사
Latvian:	operators, mašīnstrādnieks
Lithuanian:	operatorius, mašinistas
Norwegian:	maskinist, operatør
Polish:	operator
Portuguese (Brazil):	operador
Portuguese (Portugal):	operador
Romanian:	mecanic
Russian:	оператор; диспетчер
Slovak:	obsluhujúci pracovník
Slovenian:	operater
Spanish:	operario
Swedish:	operatör, maskinist
Turkish:	operatör, makinist

ˈoperator2 noun

a person who connects telephone calls
Example: Ask the operator to connect you to that number.

Arabic:	عامِل الهاتِف
Chinese (Simplified):	电话接近线员
Chinese (Traditional):	電話接近線員
Czech:	telefonista, -ka
Danish:	omstillingsdame
Dutch:	telefonist
Estonian:	telefonist
Finnish:	puhelunvälittäjä
French:	téléphoniste
German:	der, *die Telefonist(in)
Greek:	τηλεφωνητής, χειριστής τηλεφωνικού κέντρου
Hungarian:	telefonos
Icelandic:	starfsmaður á skiptiborði
Indonesian:	operator
Italian:	centralinista, telefonista

Japanese:	電話交換手
Korean:	전화 교환원
Latvian:	telefonists
Lithuanian:	telefonistas
Norwegian:	sentralbordbetjent
Polish:	telefonist(k)a
Portuguese (Brazil):	telefonista
Portuguese (Portugal):	telefonista
Romanian:	operatoare, telefonistă
Russian:	связист; телефонист
Slovak:	telefonista, -ka
Slovenian:	telefonist
Spanish:	telefonista
Swedish:	växeltelefonist
Turkish:	santral (memuru)

See also: operating room, operative, operation, operational, operate

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

operator Audio Help (ŏp'ə-rā'tər) Pronunciation Key

Mathematics A function, especially one from a set to itself, such as differentiation of a differentiable function or rotation of a vector. In quantum mechanics, measurable quantities of a physical system, such as position and momentum, are related to unique operators applied to the wave equation describing the system.
A logical operator.
Genetics A segment of chromosomal DNA that regulates the activity of the structural genes of an operon by interacting with a specific repressor.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

operator programming
A symbol used as a function, with infix syntax if it has two arguments (e.g. "+") or prefix syntax if it has only one (e.g. Boolean NOT). Many languages use operators for built-in functions such as arithmetic and logic.
(1995-04-30)