preparator

noun

pre·​par·​a·​tor pri-ˈper-ə-tər 

pri-ˈpa-rə-tər

: one that prepares

specifically : a person who prepares scientific specimens or museum displays

Examples of preparator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bourque, a fossil preparator in the Florida Museum’s vertebrate paleontology division, and his colleague Edward Stanley, who directs the museum’s digital imaging laboratory, described the new species in a paper published last month in the Journal of Paleontology. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2025

Oldest tegu in North America The road to discovering the new species, and new genus, began when Jason Bourque, the study author and fossil preparator for the Florida Museum of Natural History, came across an unidentified vertebra in storage. —Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025

Editors’ Picks Mixing Favorite Styles Brings the Most Appealing Results How the ‘Manosphere’ Became Mainstream Entertainment Mr. Duncan, who grew up in the Atlanta area, is an art preparator for Gagosian Gallery, a role that entails installing, packing, and shipping art. —Shivani Vora, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025

Researchers help by hiring staff as preparators or as guides during fieldwork, but more revenue is needed. —Byrodrigo Pérez Ortega, science.org, 17 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

early Scots preparatore, borrowed from Late Latin praeparātor, from Latin praeparāre "to prepare" + -tor, agent suffix

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preparator

• declarator
• imperator
• inheritor