motivator

noun

mo·​ti·​va·​tor ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-tər 

plural motivators

: one that motivates or impels someone or something

a subconscious motivator of behavior

: such as

a

: a factor or situation that causes people to feel motivated to do something : incentive

Only a fool, though, would deny that money is a very real and basic need and, of course, a motivator of sorts.

—Robert W. Corl

Exercising with someone else … can be a motivator.

—Joanne Lannin

Andre Harris, without basketball as a motivator, had slipped back into bad habits academically.

—John Feinstein

b

: a person who motivates others

… won a reputation as a leader and a motivator …

—Leonard Silk

But Romo's not an enabler; he's a motivator, says [Jessica] Simpson. "If I'm not feeling good about myself, he'll say, 'Get your butt up and go to the gym then!'"

—Michelle Tan

Examples of motivator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His former teammate Porzingis could relate to Tatum’s rehab process, and said that a desire to be involved in the team’s day-to-day grind is often a great motivator. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2026

The heartbreak, according to junior guard Isaak Hayes, was a motivator. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Mar. 2026

Using food as a motivator, Merlin mastered the buttons in record time. —Seth Carnell, USA Today, 15 Mar. 2026

The two said the dwindling number of arts spaces was one motivator to get a physical location in 2021 and form 18th Street Casa de Cultura. —Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above