administrator

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

Updated on: 21 May 2018

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 person who manages a computer network or system

network administrators

3 : 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

Scottsdale parents and teachers began raising concerns about the administrators more than a year ago.

— yihyun jeong, azcentral, "Scottsdale school board president isn't laughing over parody account, sues for $1.5M," 16 May 2018
Pharmacy benefits managers are third-party administrators of prescription drug programs.

— stephen singer, courant.com, "Made For Each Other: Cigna, Express Scripts Say No Other Suitors Emerged," 16 May 2018
Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in the statement.

— sarah lewin, Scientific American, "NASA Will Send a Helicopter to Mars in 2020," 14 May 2018
But those who perpetuate the disinformation campaigns, including the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the House and Senate majority leaders, and the president of the United States, likely do.

— nathaniel rich, The Atlantic, "The Novel That Asks, ‘What Went Wrong With Mankind?’," 11 May 2018
Under its new administrator Jim Bridenstine, a former congressman, NASA is taking steps to move forward on a long-range program of exploration and survey of resources that would lead to the establishment of a permanent base there.

— dennis overbye, New York Times, "‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Is Still the ‘Ultimate Trip’," 10 May 2018
What's clear is that White House aides are leading a new push to convince the President to abandon his EPA administrator.

— sarah westwood, CNN, "Trump's support for embattled Pruitt could be wavering," 8 May 2018
Joe DeVries, assistant to the city administrator, acknowledged that those who don’t initially have a spot will likely shuffle elsewhere in the city once the camps are cleared.

— kimberly veklerov, San Francisco Chronicle, "Oakland to clear long-standing homeless encampment while opening new shed-homes," 7 May 2018
Conner plans to reduce reliance on study halls and treat each school as a customer of the central office administrators.

— shawn r. beals, Courant Community, "Middletown Superintendent's Plan Focuses On Math Scores, Achievement Gap," 5 May 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of administrator

Middle English administratour, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin administātor "person in charge, manager," from administrāre "to administer" + -tor, agent suffix

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

administrator Synonyms

Synonyms

administrant, director, exec, executive, 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