editor

editor — noun

1. a person whose job is to prepare written content, film, or other material for pu

1.nounB1
Definition

a person whose job is to prepare written content, film, or other material for publication or broadcast by checking, correcting, and improving it; also, a person who manages the content and decides what is published in a newspaper, magazine, or website.

Example

Sumin was a copy editor at the city paper before becoming the features editor.

collocation: copy editor / features editor

The editor-in-chief asked the reporters to investigate the mayor's new policy before running the story.

collocation: editor-in-chief (top-ranking role)

Common collocations
  • copy editor
  • senior editor
  • editor-in-chief
  • managing editor
  • features editor
  • film editor
  • literary editor
  • sports editor
  • city editor
  • associate editor
  • news editor
  • photo editor
Synonyms
  • proofreader

    focuses only on surface errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation) rather than content or structure

  • reviewer

    evaluates quality and may suggest changes, but does not typically make direct corrections or manage a publication

  • compiler

    gathers material from multiple sources into one collection, but may not alter or improve the content

  • publisher

    handles the business side — printing, distribution, financing — rather than content preparation

Antonyms
  • author

    writes the original content rather than reviewing or correcting it

Grammar Patterns

editor + of + publication

editor + at + organization

Usage Note

In journalism, this word often refers to a senior role — a person who assigns reporters, decides what gets published, and manages a section (e.g., sports editor, city editor). In book or film publishing, an editor works more directly on the content itself: correcting language, suggesting structural changes, and ensuring consistency across the work.

Common Mistakes

My father is an editor of a book company.
My father works as an editor at a publishing company.
'editor of' usually refers to the publication (editor of the Times), not the employer.
She is a book editor, so she writes novels.
She is a book editor, so she helps authors improve their manuscripts.
An editor improves others' work rather than writing original material.

2. a software application that lets you create, change, and arrange digital content

2.nounB1
Definition

a software application that lets you create, change, and arrange digital content such as text, images, or video files.

Example

Harper trimmed the opening of her film with a free video editor and added subtitles.

common collocation: video editor

Emre wrote an essay in a text editor that crashed before he could save it.

Common collocations
  • text editor
  • video editor
  • image editor
  • code editor
  • photo editor
  • sound editor
  • graphics editor
  • HTML editor
  • plain-text editor
  • online editor
Synonyms
  • word processor

    a type of editor that also handles formatting, layout, and printing, not just plain text

  • authoring tool

    a broader term for any software used to create digital content, including editors for web pages, multimedia, or documents

Grammar Patterns

[type of content] + editor

editor + for + [file format]

Usage Note

When referring to software, 'editor' is commonly combined with the type of content it handles: text editor, video editor, image editor, code editor, photo editor, and sound editor. A text editor is typically simpler than a word processor (which includes layout and formatting tools).

Common Mistakes

I wrote my report in a text editor like Microsoft Word.
I wrote my report in a word processor like Microsoft Word.
A text editor handles plain text without formatting; Word is a word processor, which includes layout and style options.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

An editor prepares content for publication by reviewing, correcting, and improving it, and may also decide what gets published. A proofreader checks only for surface errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation) and does not make content or structural decisions. A publisher handles the business and production side — printing, distribution, financing — rather than the content itself. A journalist writes news articles or reports but is not typically responsible for editing others' work. A compiler gathers material from various sources into one collection but may not alter or improve the content. For example, a book editor works alongside an author to shape a manuscript chapter by chapter, while a proofreader catches typos in the final version, and a publisher decides the print run and retail price.

proofreaderpublisher ↗journalist ↗compiler

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word 'editor' comes from Latin 'ēditor', meaning 'publisher' or 'producer', which was formed from 'ēditus' (past participle of 'ēdere' — 'to bring forth, publish, give out'). 'Ēdere' itself combines 'ē-' (out) and 'dare' (to give), literally meaning 'to give out'. English adopted the term in the mid-1600s, first referring to a person who prepares another person's work for publication. The computer software sense emerged in the 1960s alongside early digital text-processing systems.