What does "coordinator" mean?

1. (organizer) a person who organizes a group of people or a project to make sure everything happens correctly. 2. (sports coach) a coach in American football who is in charge of one part of the team, like the defense. 3. (grammar) a word like 'and' or 'but' that connects two equal parts of a sentence.

How do you use "coordinator"?

Often used with a specific department name, such as 'project coordinator' or 'event coordinator'. Usually appears as 'offensive coordinator' or 'defensive coordinator'. Refers specifically to the seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

coordinator

US //koʊˈɔɹdəˌneɪtɝ// UK //kəʊˈɔːdɪnˌeɪtɐ// co·or·di·na·tor

1 organizer (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a person who organizes a group of people or a project to make sure everything happens correctly.

an individual tasked with the synchronization of various agents or components to achieve a specific goal.

Example

The wedding coordinator made sure the flowers arrived before the guests did.

Example

As the regional logistics coordinator, she was responsible for ensuring that the supply chain remained uninterrupted during the peak holiday season.

Usage

Often used with a specific department name, such as 'project coordinator' or 'event coordinator'.

Teacher's tip

While 'manager' implies authority over people, 'coordinator' often implies authority over the process or the schedule.
2 sports coach (n.)
C1 Advanced American English Sport

a coach in American football who is in charge of one part of the team, like the defense.

a specialized coach responsible for a specific phase of the game, typically reporting to the head coach.

Example

The team hired a new defensive coordinator to help them stop losing games.

Example

The offensive coordinator spent the entire week analyzing film to identify weaknesses in the opponent's secondary coverage.

Usage

Usually appears as 'offensive coordinator' or 'defensive coordinator'.

Teacher's tip

This is a very specific technical role in American football; in other sports, the term 'assistant coach' is more common.
- coach
- strategist

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3 grammar (n.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Grammar

a word like 'and' or 'but' that connects two equal parts of a sentence.

a coordinating conjunction used to link syntactic elements of equal grammatical rank.

Example

In the sentence 'I like tea and he likes coffee', the word 'and' is a coordinator.

Example

The professor explained how a coordinator can link two independent clauses to form a compound sentence.

Usage

Refers specifically to the seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Teacher's tip

This is a formal linguistic term; students usually learn these simply as 'conjunctions' at lower levels.
- coordinating conjunction

Origin

From coordinate + -or.