Meanings
nounimpactor (plural impactors)
plural impactors
- Any of several machines or devices in which a part impacts on another, or on a material.
cascade impactor
- An object which impacts another.
Chicxulub impactor
1 more example
Although Dr. Bottke remains unconvinced that the impactor had a cometary origin, he noted that the asteroid explanation also raised many exciting and unresolved questions.
2021 February 15, Becky Ferreira, “Where Did the Dinosaur-Killing Impactor Come From?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
- New Latinimpāctor
- Englishimpactor
Borrowed from New Latin impāctor, from impingō + -tor.
More words from New Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with impactor
factoractortractorreactorextractorrefractorattractorcompactorprotractorretractorinteractoracterabstractormalefactorenactorabstractercompactercounteractercounteractorenacterexactorjudicial factoroveractoroverreactor
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
impactor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impactor
MLA
“impactor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impactor. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impactor,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impactor.
Source: impactor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.