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controller

controller

116 4.2
A person who directs and manages a team or activity
  • noun
  • /kənˈtroʊlər/
translation icon : controlador
  • The system will enable the air traffic controller to have both regional and global views of the airspace.
  • traffic controller
  • air traffic controller
  • controller training

But yeah, pretty much 'cause like air traffic controllers still like they only use radar really.

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Examples

  • Due to the congestion, air-traffic controllers order incoming planes to fly in circles over Berlin.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The project manager acted as a controller, ensuring that every team was meeting its deadlines.

  • Look, this is off the record, but I spoke to the controller this morning.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Sitting in my apartment, I felt like an air traffic controller.

  • I checked my notes, and back at San David, the Controller said, "Cleared as filed."

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Eight of the ten had reasonable or good German, and the mission controller was fluent.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The classroom teacher is one of the main controllers of a student's academic, social, and mental destiny.

    Academic text (1997)
  • OK, all flight controllers, we're at T-minus 30 seconds and counting.

  • The air traffic controller has put us on hold, so in the meantime, I've asked the cabin attendants to start the movie.

  • "Reach 007," advised the controller, "you are cleared for the VOR 1 NDB approach to runway 36."

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

manager
vscontroller
1.6

A person who controls money and work in a company

directs and restrains actions beyond just resources covering wider operational control
master
vscontroller
3.7

A person in charge of a group or place

directs and restrains actions with practical management rather than absolute rule
supervisor
vscontroller
346 2.8

A person who watches workers and helps them do their jobs correctly

also directs and restrains broader operations beyond just checking work
handler
vscontroller
85 3.9

Person who manages and helps a public figure like a celebrity or politician

often directs and restrains broader operations beyond personal management
admin
vscontroller
  • Jargon
35 3.2

A person who manages an online group or website

focuses on system or technical management rather than broad operational restraint
overseer
vscontroller
24 4.8

A person who watches and directs workers at places like a factory or construction site

focuses more on directing and restraining systems not only site supervision
delegator
vscontroller
1 4.7

A person who gives tasks to other people

assigns work but lacks restraining and broader control over operations
manhandler
vscontroller
7.5

A person who manages and directs workers

emphasizes direct people handling rather than controlling wider operations or systems

Antonyms

295 1.6

A person who supports a leader and accepts their direction

38 4.6

A person with a lower job rank who follows another's orders

Compounds

disk controller
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A small computer part that tells a hard disk drive how to read and write data

A system that keeps a machine stable using a simple model and noisy measurements despite random disturbances

LQG controller
  • Specialized
9.9

A system that uses an estimator and a regulator to keep machines like robots stable when there is noise

How Controlling

executive
929 4.6
director
3.0
controller
116 4.2
manager
1.6
supervisor
346 2.8

Surface Forms

controller singular
controllers plural

Morphology

controller = control (transparent) = control + er

The agentive meaning 'one who controls or directs' is a straightforward derivation from the verb 'control' plus '-er'.

Etymology

Controller comes from an old phrase counter-roll, where counter was a 'check' and roll was a 'list'. That checking idea grew into 'managing and guiding', so a controller is a person who directs actions and keeps things on track.