actor

noun ac·tor \ ˈak-tər also -ˌtȯr \

|Updated on: 2 Aug 2018

Examples: actor in a Sentence

Definition of actor

1 : one that acts : doer

2 a : one who acts in a play, movie, television show, etc.

b : one who behaves as if acting a part

3 : one that takes part in any affair : participant

political actors

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actorish

play \-tə-rish\ adjective

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actorly

play \-tər-lē\ adjective

See actor defined for English-language learners

See actor defined for kids

Examples of actor in a Sentence

my sister went to drama school to become an actor
Benjamin Franklin was a major actor in many of the events leading up to the founding of our nation.

Recent Examples of actor from the Web

The actor, last seen in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, is repped by CAA, LBI Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham.

— borys kit, The Hollywood Reporter, "Jamie Foxx in Talks to Join Michael B. Jordan in Legal Drama 'Just Mercy'," 13 July 2018
An actor armed with an airsoft gun fires at officers who, in turn, must disable the shooter amid the sounds of gunshots and the smell of gunpowder.

— annie martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "New UCF police chief talks about preventing shootings, sex crimes," 13 July 2018
He's worked in comedy, film and is the son of the prolific actor, Danny Glover.

— sam tornow, Billboard, "Here Are All of the Musicians Who Are Nominated For 2018 Emmys," 13 July 2018
Gathered from Greenbaum's studies, this version aims for authenticity, with a handful of actors, a shoestring budget and fragmented rehearsal time.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Coming up: a new brewery debut, Spectrum music festival and Bear Paw," 13 July 2018
Not only would Johansson be playing the kind of role that ought to be given to a trans actor, many felt, her public identification as a woman would inevitably undercut the movie’s characterisation of Gill as a man.

— josephine livingstone, The New Republic, "Scarlett Johansson won’t play a trans man after all.," 13 July 2018
Clarke has professional actors, an actual script (co-written with Martin Brennan and Michael B. Jackson), and an approach that resembles a refined old cinema verité documentary more than a heap of shapeless digital video.

— noel murray, latimes.com, "Review: Irish found-footage horror film 'The Devil's Doorway' can't escape clichés," 12 July 2018
The actor, a 2014 DePaul University graduate originally from metro Detroit, is part of the local theater and film scene.

— ariel parrella-aureli, Chicago Reader, "365 Ways to Kill an American offers a new perspective on police brutality," 12 July 2018
The other night, the clientele looked like background actors, hired for atmosphere.

— hannah goldfield, The New Yorker, "Chicha, the Delicious New Nicaraguan Restaurant That Caters to Millennial Cliché," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'actor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of actor

Middle English actour "doer, pleader," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin āctor, from agere "to drive (cattle), cause to move, do" + -tor, agent suffix — more at agent

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year