Definition of "actuator" []

• One that activates, especially a device responsible for actuating a mechanical device, such as one connected to a computer by a sensor link. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The motor and 5: 1 gearbox are Swiss made, and the rudder actuator is sensitive to 64-steps, allowing 180-degree turns within a 12-foot-wide room."
• "BGW: how about the word actuator instead of trigger with respect to Mr. Redneckerson...it carries more of the engineer chic that is so popular with the kids these days."
• "Applying a voltage between the indium-tin-oxide coating and the film can cause it to bend downward, into the groove in the plastic: the film becomes an "actuator" - the moving part in a MEMS."