1. An agent that operates some apparatus or machine
   "the operator of the switchboard";
   - manipulator
    
2. (mathematics) a symbol or function representing a mathematical operation
   "The plus sign is an operator for addition"
    
3. Someone who owns or operates a business
   "who is the operator of this franchise?"
    
4. A shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficulties
   "The operator always found a way to close the deal, regardless of the obstacles";
   - hustler [N. Amer, informal], wheeler-dealer
    
5. A speculator who trades aggressively on stock or commodity markets
   "The operator made risky bets on volatile stocks"

Derived forms: operators

Type of: bourgeois, businessperson, causal agency, causal agent, cause, chancer [Brit, informal], function, map, mapping, mathematical function, opportunist, plunger, self-seeker, single-valued function, speculator

Encyclopedia: Operator, Operator