actuator.
Something that actuates something else.
Meaning & usage
Something that actuates something else.
The mind is the actuator of the body.
A usually electric device that causes a mechanical device (i.e., a mechanism) to be switched on or off. For example; an electric motor that opens and closes a valve.
The mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive.
A relay that controls the flow of electricity.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin āctus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin āctuō Medieval Latin āctuātusder. English actuate Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin -ātor Old French -eorbor. Middle English -our ▲ Latin -torlbor. English -or English actuator From actuate + -or. First attested in 1652.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.