Meaning & use
signator
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformalrare
A person or party that has put a signature on a document such as a contract, treaty or declaration.
Grammar: Counted like any noun: a signator, several signators; often followed by 'to': a signator to the treaty.
Patterns
- a signator to something
- a signator of something
Each signator to the agreement received a copy of the final text.
The country was a signator of the treaty in 1998.
The lawyer checked that every signator had signed on the correct line.
Word forms
| plural | signators |
|---|
Common combinations
- signator to
- She was the only signator to the lease.
- signator of
- He was a signator of the founding document.
- original signator
- The museum owns a letter from an original signator.
- authorized signator
- Only an authorized signator may approve the payment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- signatory
- Signatory is the usual, more common form of the same word, so prefer it in everyday writing.
- signer
- Signer is the plain everyday word for anyone who signs something, while signator sounds formal and rare.
- party
- Party can mean any person or group involved in an agreement, even if they have not yet signed.
- undersigned
- The undersigned is used inside a letter or contract to mean the person signing it, and is not a general noun for any signer.
Word family
Commonly confused: signator or signatory?
signator vs signatory
Signatory is the more common spelling for the same meaning; signator is rare and may look like an error.
Practice
Which word is the more common choice for a country that has signed a treaty?
Choose one answer.
Signatory is the standard word for a party that signed an agreement. A signature is the written name itself, not the party.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “signator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.