comparator

[ kuhm-par-uh-ter, kom-puh-rey- ]

noun

1. any of various instruments for making comparisons, as of lengths or distances, tints of colors, etc.
2. Electronics. a circuit for comparing two signals, as readings of duplicate information stored in a digital computer, and for giving an indication of agreement or disagreement between them.

comparator

/ kəmˈpærətə /

noun

1. any instrument used to measure a property of a system by comparing it with a standard system
2. an electric circuit that compares two signals and gives an indication of the extent of their dissimilarity

Word History and Origins

Origin of comparator¹

First recorded in 1880–85; from Late Latin comparātor “a comparer”; compare, -tor

Example Sentences

A separate arm is exploring AF prevalence and susceptibility in 128 former elite competitive rowers between the ages of 45 and 80, along with a matched comparator group of people who are not competitive athletes.

From Science Magazine

They added: “Trump has not shown that Biden’s conduct, as described in the Hur Report, makes him a similarly situated comparator for purposes of his selective prosecution claim.”

From New York Times

While the company acknowledged that in the 2011 and 2021 publications of the Widnes study not all cases of Parkinson's were always listed on death certificates, it said "the same would be true of the general population data which were used as a comparator in the study".

From BBC

It was found that using Oxygen as the base metallicity comparator to other elements was not accurate, and instead, Argon demonstrated a stronger correlation with Oxygen for Sulphur and has been suggested as a more reliable indicator of metallicity and a suitable comparison element.

From Science Daily

They also found more deaths among girls who received RTS,S than girls who received a comparator vaccine, against rabies.

From Science Magazine