A separator is something that divides or keeps things apart. In a three-ring binder, colorful cardboard separators help you organize different subjects: math behind one tab, science behind another, reading behind a third. Without separators, all your papers would mix together in one confused pile.

The word appears in many contexts. A highway separator is the barrier or median strip that keeps traffic moving in opposite directions from crashing into each other. In a recycling center, workers use separators (machines or processes) to sort plastic from metal from glass. Your teeth have small separators between them, thin spaces that keep each tooth distinct.

Sometimes separator refers to a person who separates things, like a worker at a mail sorting facility who acts as a separator, dividing letters by ZIP code. In cooking, a cream separator is a device that divides fresh milk into cream and skim milk.

When you separate your Halloween candy into chocolates, hard candies, and gummies, you're doing the work of a separator yourself, creating order from chaos.