animator

noun

an·​i·​ma·​tor ˈa-nə-ˌmā-tər 

plural animators

: someone or something that animates: such as

a

: an artist who is involved in creating animation for cartoons, films, video games, etc.

b

: a person who leads and encourages participation in an activity

… community animators mobilize individuals and organizations …

—Laura Payton and Bruce Deachman

Examples of animator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our lead artist, Tom [Lucas], who came up with all the character designs, is a super-talented animator who brings that kind of graphic energy to them. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026

The medieval city located in Italy’s Tuscany region hosted creative leaders, artists and players of games, authors of comic books, manga, showrunners and animators of TV series and anime, actors and directors of films. — John Bleasdale, Variety, 1 Nov. 2026

The show’s creator, writer and director, Mackenzie Crook, and the animator Ainslie Henderson have been friends for at least 20 years. — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Around 30 animators worked across 40 tiny sets, painstakingly constructing a feature-length film frame by frame. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for animator

• activator
• actuator
• agitator
• alligator
• allocator
• alternator
• annotator
• applicator
• arbitrator
• aspirator
• aviator
• calculator

Kids Definition

animator

noun

an·​i·​ma·​tor ˈan-ə-ˌmāt-ər 

: someone who makes an animated cartoon