actor

noun

ac·​tor ˈak-tər 

also -ˌtȯr

1

: one that acts : doer

2

a

: one who acts in a play, movie, television show, etc.

b

: one who behaves as if acting a part

3

: one that takes part in any affair : participant

political actors

actorish

ˈak-tə-rish 

adjective

actorly

ˈak-tər-lē 

adjective

Synonyms of actor

• actress
• performer
• entertainer
• thespian

Examples of actor in a Sentence

my sister went to drama school to become an actor

Benjamin Franklin was a major actor in many of the events leading up to the founding of our nation.

Recent Examples on the Web

The actors then check her vitals and read paperwork before giving the star a major shock. —Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026

The point del Toro is making is there’s a lot of hard, unglamorous work that goes into bringing movies to life — from hiring the right actors to making decisions on the fly when budgets are tight and time is running short. —Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026

The latter won him the best new actor gong at the Grand Bell Awards in 1980, which is the Korean equivalent of the Oscars. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Jan. 2026

Diosdado Cabello, the Interior Minister, and Vladimir Padrino López, the country’s top general—to name just two of the most influential actors—are hardly naïve. —Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English actour "doer, pleader," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin āctor, from agere "to drive (cattle), cause to move, do" + -tor, agent suffix — more at agent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing actor

• bad actor
• character actor
• co-actor

Rhymes for actor

• acter
• factor
• tractor
• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor
• contractor
• distractor
• extractor
• impactor
• protractor

Kids Definition

actor

noun

ac·​tor ˈak-tər 

: one that acts

especially : a person who acts especially in a play or movie or on television