explainer

noun

ex·​plain·​er ik-ˈsplā-nər 

plural explainers

: a person or thing that explains something: such as

a

: a person who makes something understandable

Modern day presidents must be good explainers of a complex world …

—Jonathan Alter et al.

b

: an article, podcast, graphic, etc., that explains something complex or not widely understood : an in-depth treatment of a topic

Each half-hour episode contained a big explainer of a complicated issue. The list of topics sounds like the arcane scraps from the cutting-room floor of most newsrooms—the amount of hidden sugar in food, civil forfeiture, the false hopes of lotteries, the failure of the American government to safeguard people who served as interpreters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

—David Carr

Inside, the issue contains a long explainer piece on how the subprime mess came to be and how it wreaked havoc on Citi, Wall Street and especially Merrill.

—Yvette Kantrow

Examples of explainer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There were explainers on challah braiding, Eastern European pickling, and how-tos on hand-rolling couscous and rugelach. —Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025

In fact, the Fed even alludes to it in its own explainer on how the central bank works. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 7 July 2025

Viewers will also receive a cinematic explainer on Milton’s dedication to children’s education and cultural programs, the creation of world-class products and experiences and his many philanthropic investments. —Moná Thomas, People.com, 1 July 2025

Rozell’s model combined a neural network classification scheme (for analyzing brain signals) with a generative causal explainer (for identifying key activity patterns). —IEEE Spectrum, 30 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for explainer

• abstainer
• campaigner
• complainer
• container
• coplanar
• detainer
• maintainer
• nonplanar
• retainer
• sustainer
• entertainer
• gainer