Meaning & use
annotator
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Meanings
nouncountable
a person who adds notes, comments, or explanations to a text or image.
Grammar: Countable: one annotator, two annotators. Often followed by 'of' or 'for': an annotator of old manuscripts.
Patterns
- annotator of something
- annotator for something
The annotator added helpful notes in the margins of the manuscript.
As an annotator, she explained difficult words for modern readers.
nouncountablecomputing
a person whose job is to label data, such as text or images, for computer systems.
Grammar: Countable. Often used in the phrase 'data annotator'.
Patterns
- data annotator
- annotator of data
The company hired annotators to label thousands of images for the AI model.
Each annotator marked the parts of the sentence that were questions.
Word forms
| plural | annotators |
|---|
Common combinations
- data annotator
- She works as a data annotator for a tech firm.
- chief annotator
- The chief annotator checked the work of the others.
- annotator of texts
- He is a well-known annotator of Shakespeare's plays.
- annotator agreement
- The researchers measured annotator agreement to ensure reliability.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commentator
- A commentator gives opinions or explanations, often on events; an annotator adds written notes to a text or data.
- editor
- An editor may correct and improve a text, while an annotator mainly adds explanatory notes.
- labeler
- Labeler is used in data work and is close in meaning, but annotator is more formal and often implies detailed notes.
Word family
- annotate verb
- To add notes or comments to a text or image.
- annotation noun
- A note or comment added to a text or image.
- annotated adjective
- Having notes added, as in an annotated bibliography.
Commonly confused: annotator or announcer? annotator or annotater?
annotator vs announcer
An announcer reads news or introduces programs; an annotator writes notes.
annotator vs annotater
Annotater is a rare variant spelling; annotator is the standard form.
Practice
The team of ______ labeled each sentence as positive or negative for the sentiment analysis project.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a plural noun for people who label data, which is 'annotators'. 'Announcers' are people who read news, not label data. 'Annotations' are the notes themselves, not the people. 'Annotated' is a verb or adjective and does not fit after 'team of'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “annotator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.