administrator

noun ad·min·is·tra·tor \ əd-ˈmi-nə-ˌstrā-tər , -ˌstrā-ˌtȯr \

Definition of administrator

1 :a person legally vested with the right of administration of an estate

2 a :one who administers especially business, school, or governmental affairs

b :a priest appointed to administer a diocese or parish temporarily

See administrator defined for English-language learners

See administrator defined for kids

Examples of administrator in a Sentence

Her eldest son will act as the administrator of the estate.

Recent Examples of administrator from the Web

Most disaster response is managed by state and local officials, with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "How Trump Should Respond to Hurricane Harvey," 29 Aug. 2017
Buskey was a career educator who retired as a school administrator from E.S. Chastang Middle School.

— jonece starr dunigan, AL.com, "Etowah County teen dies after being struck by vehicle," 28 Aug. 2017
The reauthorization would decrease barriers to privatization of flood insurance, would allow NFIP administrators to identify the most expensive beneficiaries, and would strengthen flood mitigation and flood-plain reporting.

— vann r. newkirk ii, The Atlantic, "How Hurricane Harvey Could Cause Long-Term Devastation," 26 Aug. 2017
Colleges have hired armies of Title IX administrators.

— ann friedman, The Cut, "The Sexual-Assault Generation Gap," 25 Aug. 2017
By Michael Clevenger, The C-J The University of Louisville has a new sponsorship contract with Adidas, athletics director Tom Jurich told administrators and boosters at a dinner Thursday night.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville has new $160M deal with Adidas, Tom Jurich tells boosters," 24 Aug. 2017
Lockport administrator Ben Benson said that business community is on the west side of I-355, where a new shopping center is planned.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "Roadwork on 159th Street running behind schedule; businesses 'suffering through it'," 23 Aug. 2017
That would require the private sector investment, city administrators said.

— andres viglucci and monique o. madan, miamiherald, "Post-Hurricane Andrew destruction, Homestead is reinventing itself," 20 Aug. 2017
The 911 Center staffers who usually work the midnight shift were asked to come in early, and other DES employees, as well as a regional administrator from MEMA, pitched in to help monitor the effects of the storm, Hopkins said.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Employees evaluated after possible lightning strike at Harford 911 Center Friday," 19 Aug. 2017

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

First Known Use of administrator

15th century

administrator Synonyms

Synonyms

administrant, executive, archon, director, exec, manager, superintendent, supervisor

Related Words

codirector, comanager, co-organizer; middle manager; boardman, officer, official; commissioner, minister; boss, chief, head, leader, president

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

ADMINISTRATOR Defined for English Language Learners

administrator

noun

Definition of administrator for English Language Learners

: a person whose job is to manage a company, school, or other organization
: a person who controls the use of something (such as property or money)

ADMINISTRATOR Defined for Kids

administrator

noun ad·min·is·tra·tor \ əd-ˈmi-nə-ˌstrā-tər \

Definition of administrator for Students

:a person who administers business, school, or government affairs

Law Dictionary

administrator

noun ad·min·i·stra·tor \ əd-ˈmi-nə-ˌstrā-tər \

legal Definition of administrator

1 :a person appointed by a probate court to manage the distribution of the assets in the estate of a person who has died without leaving a valid will or leaving a will that does not name an executor able or willing to perform — see also administratrix, letters of administration at letter 2 — compare executor, personal representative

— administrator ad litem

:an administrator appointed to represent an estate that is a necessary party to a lawsuit

— administrator cum testamento annexo

:administrator with the will annexed in this entry

— administrator de bonis non \-dē-ˈbō-nis-ˈnän, -dā-ˈbō-nis-ˈnōn\

:an administrator appointed to administer the remaining assets in the estate when the preceding administrator or executor can or will no longer perform

— administrator pendente lite \-pen-ˈden-tē-ˈlī-tē, -pen-ˈden-tā-ˈlē-tā\

:special administrator in this entry

— administrator with the will annexed

:an administrator appointed to administer an estate where the will names no executor or where the named executor is incapable of performing or unwilling to perform — called also administrator cum testamento annexo

— ancillary administrator

:a subordinate administrator appointed to administer the assets of an estate that are located in a different jurisdiction from the one where the deceased was domiciled and where the primary administration of the estate is taking place

— foreign administrator

:an administrator appointed in another state

— general administrator

:an administrator appointed to administer the entire estate of a deceased person in accordance with the laws of intestacy or in accordance with the will if there is one — compare special administrator in this entry

— independent administrator

:an administrator whose administration of the estate is entirely or mostly unsupervised by the probate court

— public administrator

1 :a public officer who administers the estates of deceased people when there is no one else willing or entitled to perform

2 :an administrator appointed in some states for the sole purpose of being responsible for the assets in an estate pending settlement of a dispute or when there is doubt as to who should be appointed administrator

— special administrator

1 :an administrator appointed to administer only a designated part of the deceased person's estate

2 :an administrator appointed for the sole purpose of being responsible for the assets in an estate usually in some emergency (as a will contest) — compare general administrator in this entry