- 1(often in compounds) a person who operates equipment or a machine a computer/machine operator
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- 2a person who works on the telephone switchboard of a large company or organization, especially at a telephone exchange Stay on the line and an operator will assist you.
- 3(often in compounds) a person or company that runs a particular business a tour operator a bus operator
- 4(informal) (especially disapproving) a person who is skillful at getting what they want, especially when this involves behaving in a dishonest way a smooth/slick/shrewd operator
- 5(mathematics) a symbol or function that represents an operation in mathematics
Check pronunciation: operator