director

American  

[dih-rek-ter, dahy-] / dɪˈrɛk tər, daɪ- /

noun

1. a person or thing that directs.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

2. one of a group of persons chosen to control or govern the affairs of a company or corporation.

   a board of directors.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

3. the person responsible for the interpretive aspects of a stage, film, or television production; the person who supervises the integration of all the elements, as acting, staging, and lighting, required to realize the writer's conception.

4. the musical conductor of an orchestra, chorus, etc.

5. the manager or chief executive of certain schools, institutes, government bureaus, etc.

   Synonyms:

   boss, chief, administrator, leader, manager, head, supervisor

6. Military. a mechanical or electronic device that continuously calculates firing data for use against an airplane or other moving target.

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director British  

/ daɪ-, dɪˈrɛktə /

noun

1. a person or thing that directs, controls, or regulates

2. a member of the governing board of a business concern who may or may not have an executive function

3. a person who directs the affairs of an institution, trust, educational programme, etc

4. the person responsible for the artistic and technical aspects of making a film or television programme Compare producer

5. music another word (esp US) for conductor

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Other Word Forms

• directorial adjective
• directorially adverb
• directorship noun
• directress noun
• predirector noun
• self-director noun
• subdirector noun
• subdirectorship noun

Etymology

Origin of director

From Late Latin, dating back to 1470–80; direct, -tor

Example Sentences

Kent Smetters, faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said: “If you had a 1% increase over a full decade, you’re going to be talking about several trillion dollars.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

“The Tristan Project” — created by video artist Bill Viola, director Peter Sellars and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney in 2004 — magnifies the rituals of life and death.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

But Paul Wyatt, director general for security policy at the UK defence ministry, said Europe and the United States needed each other.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

N R Jenzen Jones, director of Armament Research Services, said although it's difficult to positively identify the munition, "it appears to be correctly aligned for the terminal phase of its flight".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The director didn’t think Fred could understand what she was saying.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• administrator
• chief
• executive
• head
• leader
• organizer
• player
• principal
• producer
• supervisor