explainer

noun

ex·​plain·​er ik-ˈsplā-nər 

plural explainers

: a person or thing that explains something: such as

a

: a person who makes something understandable

Modern day presidents must be good explainers of a complex world …

—Jonathan Alter et al.

b

: an article, podcast, graphic, etc., that explains something complex or not widely understood : an in-depth treatment of a topic

… a whizzy economics explainer titled "Ways & Means" …

—Sana Krasikov

Each half-hour episode contained a big explainer of a complicated issue. The list of topics sounds like the arcane scraps from the cutting-room floor of most newsrooms—the amount of hidden sugar in food, civil forfeiture, the false hopes of lotteries, the failure of the American government to safeguard people who served as interpreters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

—David Carr

Inside, the issue contains a long explainer piece on how the subprime mess came to be and how it wreaked havoc on Citi, Wall Street and especially Merrill.

—Yvette Kantrow

Examples of explainer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

TurboTax from Intuit guides you through each step of the filing process with straightforward questions and access to explainers, videos and bonus tips. —Brian Sloan,dan Avery, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2026

Here’s our full explainer on the situation. —Glamour, 23 Mar. 2026

The deal will include exclusive content, including short-form, long-form and vertical videos, investigative stories and explainers, as well as newsletters created by Stern’s media company. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026

Tonight is also a big evening for our entertainment team, which has been producing features, previews, explainers, predictions and so much more. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for explainer

• abstainer
• campaigner
• complainer
• container
• coplanar
• detainer
• maintainer
• nonplanar
• retainer
• sustainer
• entertainer
• gainer