administrator

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person whose job is to organize and run the practical, day-to-day work of an organization such as a school, hospital or company.

   Grammar: Countable: a hospital administrator, several administrators.

   Patterns

   • administrator of something
   • a school administrator

   The hospital administrator approved the new staffing plan.

   School administrators met with parents to explain the schedule change.

   She started as a teacher and later became a university administrator.

2. 2nouncountablecomputing

   A user of a computer system or website who has special permission to change settings, manage accounts and control access.

   Grammar: Often shortened to admin in speech: ask the system administrator.

   Patterns

   • administrator of something
   • administrator account

   Only the network administrator can install new software on these machines.

   The forum administrator deleted the spam posts.

   You need administrator rights to change this setting.

3. 3nouncountablelegal

   A person appointed by a court to manage the property of someone who has died without a will, or of a business in financial trouble.

   Grammar: Legal sense; not the same as an executor, who is named in a will.

   Patterns

   • administrator of an estate

   The court named her brother as administrator of the estate.

   An administrator was appointed to try to save the failing retailer.

Word forms

Common combinations

system administrator

The system administrator reset my password in minutes.

hospital administrator

The hospital administrator announced extra night shifts.

school administrator

A school administrator handles budgets and timetables.

administrator account

Log in with the administrator account to add new users.

senior administrator

A senior administrator signed off on the contract.

Synonyms and how they differ

manager

A manager directs people and results in a team, while an administrator mostly handles organizing, records and procedures.

executive

An executive makes high-level decisions, whereas an administrator carries out and coordinates the day-to-day running.

organizer

An organizer arranges a particular event or activity, while an administrator runs an ongoing institution.

admin

Admin is the informal short form, common in computing and office talk.

Word family

administer verb

To manage or run something, or to give a medicine or test.

administration noun

The management of an organization, or a government in power.

administrative adjective

Relating to the running of an organization.

administratively adverb

In a way that concerns management or organization.

Commonly confused: administrator or executor?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “administrator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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