conspirator
Americannoun
Usage
What does conspirator mean? A conspirator is someone engaged in a conspiracy—a secret plan by multiple people to do something evil or illegal.The word conspiracy can also refer to the act of making such plans—the act of conspiring—or to the group making the plans. In a legal context, conspiracy refers to an agreement by two or more people to commit a crime.In any of these cases, the people involved can be called conspirators. The word co-conspirator refers to a fellow conspirator—a conspirator conspiring with one or more other conspirators in a conspiracy. But, by itself, the word conspirator always implies that there are multiple people involved—there is never a single conspirator.A conspiracy theory is an explanation of an event that claims it was the result of a secret and often complex and evil plot by multiple conspirators. People who promote or formulate conspiracy theories often reject the standard or accepted explanation of unexplained or unusual events and claim that they are the doing of evil conspirators secretly conspiring behind the scenes.Example: This isn’t the work of one man—it’s a conspiracy, and there are more conspirators than you think!
Other Word Forms
- nonconspirator noun
- preconspirator noun
Etymology
Origin of conspirator
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English conspiratour, from Anglo-French, from Latin conspīrātor, from conspīrā(tus) “united, acted in harmony” (past participle of conspīrāre; conspire ) + -tor -tor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Adora is also a participant in this toxic atmosphere, both victim and conspirator.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Both Indyke and Khan deny this and have told the BBC the estate has not paid the legal fees of "any known conspirator in Epstein's crimes".
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
He provided raw FBI investigative documents to the White House and burned documents from Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt’s White House safe.
From Salon • Oct. 4, 2025
They testified that Kelly was a conspirator, pointing to videos he filmed on his phone while allegedly casing Morris’ apartment complex.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2025
Though John Surratt had been a conspirator in the kidnapping plot, he was not even in Washington on the evening of the assassination.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
