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

Follow Di Placido for more meme explainers, television reviews, film theories and deep dives into digital culture. —Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

The Hill’s Julia Shapero wrote a helpful explainer on the legal and practical situation for TikTok. —Cate Martel, The Hill, 22 Jan. 2025

Berm Peak's tour and explainer on the Buffalo Bicycle S2 Utility. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2025

The company usually showcases four games in these presentations, featuring the developers in front of the camera for in-depth explainers on their upcoming titles. —Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 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