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

Rather than animate every puppet simultaneously, the studio sometimes shot them in separate passes against blue screens, giving animators more room to concentrate on individual performances. — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

The director tapped designer William Roy Hodgson, who works at the Monuments Lab that tracked where and when all those Confederate statues first were erected, to be the film’s chief graphic artist and animator. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026

Toward the end of a long, fruitless pitch meeting with a gaggle of writer-animators, Nickelodeon executive Mary Harrington put on Bartlett’s show reel. — Darryn King, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

The team is also expected to include character artists, animators, editors, composers, sound designers, colorists and other creative collaborators. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 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