-ator

1. a combination of -ate ¹ and -or ² that forms nouns corresponding to verbs ending in -ate1 ,denoting a human agent ( agitator; mediator; adjudicator ) or nonhuman entity, especially a machine ( incubator; regulator; vibrator ) performing the function named by the verb.

-ator

suffix forming nouns

1. a person or thing that performs a certain action

   agitator

   escalator

   radiator

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ator¹

< Latin -ātor, originally not a suffix, but the termination of nouns formed with -tor -tor from verbs whose stems ended in -ā-; in English, Latin loanwords ending in -ātor have been reanalyzed as derivatives of the past participles in -tus ( -ate ¹ ) and a suffix -or ( -or ² ), and many new English nouns derived from English verbs based on Latin past participles (e.g., vibrator from vibrate )

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ator¹

from Latin -ātor; see -ate ¹-or ¹

Example Sentences

“The joy of medicine is helping people get to better health, not the clerical activity,” said Gregory Ator, the health system’s chief medical informatics officer and surgeon.

From Washington Post

Ator had a long criminal history — evading arrest, criminal trespassing, assault, aggravated assault, stalking, and drug and alcohol abuse — and repeated forced mental health commitments.

From Washington Post

Ator had a long criminal history — evading arrest, criminal trespassing, assault, aggravated assault, stalking, and drug and alcohol abuse — and repeated forced mental health commitments.

From Washington Post

Ator was able to cover about 10 miles before officers shot and killed him.

From Seattle Times

Authorities said 36-year-old gunman Seth Aaron Ator called 911 before and after the shootings, but a failure in communication between agencies — they were not all operating on the same radio channel — slowed the response.

From Seattle Times