# operator

Pronunciation: US say "OP-uh-ray-tur" /ˈɑpəˌɹeɪtɚ/; UK say "OP-uh-ray-tuh" /ˈɒpəˌɹeɪtə/

## Noun

1. A person or organization that operates a device, system, service, or the like.
   - Simple: A person or company that runs or controls a machine, system, or service.
   - _The forklift operator backed slowly out of the loading bay._
   - _Several private operators run ferry services across the strait._
2. Someone who works for a telephone service connecting calls and giving callers other help.
   - Simple: A person whose job is to connect telephone calls or help callers.
   - _He asked the operator to place a collect call to Chicago._
   - _Before direct dialing, operators connected every long-distance call by hand._
3. Someone skilled at striking deals or getting things done, particularly by methods of doubtful honesty. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Someone who is clever at making deals and getting things done, sometimes in ways that are not honest.
   - _He was a savvy operator who could fix a zoning problem with a single phone call._
   - _City hall was full of operators trading favors behind closed doors._
4. A soldier who belongs to a military unit trained for special operations.
   - Simple: A soldier in a special military team that carries out dangerous secret missions.
   - _An experienced operator led the assault team through the breach._
   - _Two operators fast-roped onto the roof of the compound._
5. A symbol in a programming language that stands for a built-in operation or construct and is written with different syntax from an ordinary function.
   - Simple: A symbol in computer code, such as + or =, that tells the computer what to do with values.
   - _The assignment operator in most languages is a single equals sign._
   - _Comparison operators such as < and > return a Boolean result._
6. A function or similar mapping that transforms each value from a given domain into one or more values in a specified range.
   - Simple: A math rule that takes values and turns them into other values.
   - _The differentiation operator maps each smooth function to its derivative._
   - _Linear operators preserve addition and scalar multiplication._
7. The firm in charge of working a mine, which in many cases is also its owner.
   - Simple: The company that runs a mine, often the same company that owns it.
   - _The operator announced plans to expand the open-pit mine next year._
   - _Regulators fined several operators for failing to control coal dust._
8. A person who drives a bus.
   - Simple: A person whose job is to drive a bus.
   - _The operator pulled over to let a wheelchair passenger board._
   - _Transit operators on the night routes receive extra pay._
9. A major criminal. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A criminal who runs big or important illegal activities.
   - _Detectives believed the warehouse fires were ordered by an operator no one dared name._
   - _The biggest operators in the city never touched the drugs themselves._
10. A thief or charlatan. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who steals or who tricks people out of their money.
   - _The carnival drew its share of operators preying on easy marks._
   - _Some operator lifted his wallet on the crowded streetcar._
12. On IRC, someone who administers a chat channel or a whole network.
   - Simple: Someone in charge of a chat channel on IRC who can remove people who break the rules.
   - _A channel operator set the topic and muted the troll._
   - _Network operators coordinated to stop the flood of automated spam._
13. In syntax, an expression that takes part in a dependency formed by A-bar movement and is analyzed as binding a variable.
   - Simple: In the study of grammar, a word such as 'who' or 'what' that connects to another spot in the sentence.
   - _In 'What did she buy?', the fronted phrase serves as an operator binding the trace it leaves behind._
   - _Quantified phrases can act as operators at logical form._
14. The game of telephone, in which players whisper a message from person to person until it comes out changed.
   - Simple: A game where players whisper a message down a line to see how it changes.
   - _A round of operator at the sleepover left everyone in stitches._
   - _The teacher used operator to show the class how rumors change as they spread._

## Noun

11. Someone who has a knack for chasing and winning over women; a player. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Someone who is good at charming women and getting dates.
   - _Frank fancied himself an operator, working the room with a drink in each hand._
   - _The lifeguards were known operators who collected phone numbers all summer._

## Origin

Borrowed from Latin operātor, from operor ("to work, labour"); it is equivalent to operate plus the suffix -or.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/operator (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).