controller

[ kuhn-troh-ler ]

noun

1. an employee, often an officer, of a business firm who checks expenditures, finances, etc.; comptroller.
2. a person who regulates, directs, or restrains.
3. British Aeronautics. a dispatcher.
4. a regulating mechanism; governor.
5. Also called control unit, processor. Computers. the key component of a device, as a terminal, printer, or external storage unit, that contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute instructions fed into the device.
6. Digital Technology. a remote piece of hardware used to direct or control an electronic device:

   a video game controller.

controller

/ kənˈtrəʊlə /

noun

1. a person who directs, regulates, or restrains
2. Also calledcomptroller a business executive or government officer who is responsible for financial planning, control, etc
3. the equipment concerned with controlling the operation of an electrical device

Derived Forms

• conˈtrollerˌship, noun

Other Words From

• con·troller·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of controller¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English countrollour, from Anglo-French countrero(u)llour, Middle French contrerolleur, equivalent to contrerolle “duplicate roll” + -eur, -our, from Latin -ōr- or -ātōr- noun suffixes; control, -or ², -ator

Example Sentences

Some candidates already in the race, including State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, state Sen. Toni Atkins and former state Controller Betty Yee, had support from fewer than 5% of registered voters.

From Los Angeles Times

Gen. Rob Bonta, who has said he’s “seriously considering” running; developer Rick Caruso, who lost the Los Angeles mayor’s race in 2022; and Republican Lanhee Chen, who lost the election for state controller in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

While the OC has about one controller for every 25 autonomous trucks – according to Rio, no one has lost their job because of automation.

From BBC

Before entering the mine’s gated autonomous zone, we logged onto this system and a controller verified over the radio that we were visible.

From BBC

Night operations are not permitted at the tiny, single-runway airport because of unsafe conditions — there’s no air traffic controller, no evening attendants and no runway lights.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• authority
• bureaucrat
• chief
• commander
• custodian
• dean
• director
• executive
• head
• inspector
• judge
• leader
• manager
• minister
• officer
• official
• organizer
• superintendent
• supervisor