controller

noun

con·​trol·​ler kən-ˈtrō-lər  ˈkän-ˌtrō- 

1

a

: comptroller sense 1

b

: comptroller sense 2

c

: the chief accounting officer of a business enterprise or an institution (such as a college)

2

a

: one that controls or has power or authority to control

air traffic controller

b

: control sense 3a

controllership

kən-ˈtrō-lər-ˌship 

ˈkän-ˌtrō-

noun

Synonyms of controller

• regulator
• control

Examples of controller in a Sentence

the controllers for the video game system seem fairly well designed

Recent Examples on the Web

The big screen shows your virtual environment, while the one in your hand serves as the controller for these tools. — Jay Peters, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026

An agent can pull the vendor record, recognize a partial match under a legacy entity name, check the discrepancy against a tolerance a controller set and route the exception to the one person who can approve it, with its reasoning attached. — Michael Wegmüller, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Hall-effect sensors started making a comeback in the ’90s—Sega used them in its Saturn and Dreamcast controllers, giving them a reputation for durability and resistance to stick drift, something Switch 2 owners wish Nintendo would emulate. — ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026

Recommended by Our Editors That inclusivity was most visible not with a video game but with the My Mario line of products targeted at babies too young to even hold controllers. — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English countreroller, from Anglo-French contreroulur, from contreroule

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing controller

• air traffic controller
• forward air controller

Rhymes for controller

• bipolar
• comptroller
• dipolar
• gaoler
• nonpolar
• premolar
• ambipolar
• areolar
• bronchiolar
• circumpolar
• equimolar
• monopolar

Kids Definition

controller

noun

con·​trol·​ler kən-ˈtrō-lər  ˈkän-ˌtrō-lər 

1

: the chief accounting officer of a business or institution

2

: a person who controls

an air traffic controller

3

: control entry 2 sense 3a

Legal Definition

controller

noun

con·​trol·​ler kən-ˈtrō-lər, ˈkän-ˌtrō- 

: comptroller