tabulator

UK: /ˈtæbjʊleɪtə^r/ US: (tab′yə lā′tər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tab•u•la•tor  (tab′yə lā′tər), n. 

1. Computing a person or thing that tabulates.
2. Computing tab¹ (def. 7).

• tabulate + -or² 1880–85

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tabulator / ˈtæbjʊˌleɪtə/ noun

1. a feature in a word-processing program or device on a typewriter for setting and locating column margins
2. a machine that reads data from one medium, such as punched cards, producing lists, tabulations, or totals, usually on a continuous sheet of paper

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tab•u•late /ˈtæbyəˌleɪt/   v. [~ + object] , -lat•ed, -lat•ing. 

1. to arrange (numbers, facts, etc.) in tabular form.

tab•u•la•tion /ˌtæbyəˈleɪʃən/  n. [uncountable]
tab•u•la•tor, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tab•u•late  (v. tab′yə lāt′;adj. tab′yə lit, -lāt′), v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing, adj. 
v.t. 

1. to put or arrange in a tabular, systematic, or condensed form;
   formulate tabularly.

v.i. 

2. Computing tab¹ (def. 14).

adj. 

3. Drugs shaped like a table or tablet;
   tabular.
4. Zoology having transverse septae, as certain corals.

• Latin tabul(a), for table + -ate¹
• Late Latin tabulātus, past participle of tabulāre to fit with planks, floor; see table, -ate¹; (verb, verbal)
• (adjective, adjectival) 1590–1600

tab′u•la•ble, adj. 
tab′u•la′tion, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. order, rank, sort, group, classify.