lecturer
Americannoun
-
a person who lectures.
-
an academic rank given in colleges and universities to a teacher ranking below assistant professor.
noun
-
a person who lectures
-
a teacher in higher education without professorial status
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of lecturer
Compare meaning
How does lecturer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A lecturer is someone who stands up in front of a class and gives an organized talk designed to teach you something. There are lots of lecturers at colleges and universities. Although many professors lecture, in this country the title lecturer usually refers to a teacher who is not a permanent member of the faculty but one of the many college instructors who does not have tenure. The lecturer may even be hired for a single semester or year. The title is used slightly differently in England. There are some professional lecturers — people, like former President Bill Clinton, who make their living by going around the world giving speeches.
Vocabulary lists containing lecturer
Ancient Greece, Lessons 1–3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Education and Academics, List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dr Michael Lambert, a lecturer in medical humanities at Lancaster University, studied hundreds of national and regional archive documents to build a picture of how and why Stephen Holt - and other infants - died.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
According to Raimon Graells, a lecturer at the University of Alicante, co-director of Frallicciardi's doctoral project, and co-author of the study, the significance of the find extends well beyond the artifacts themselves.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
I cut class short and shuffle quickly back to my faculty house just off campus, where we moved from Culver City after I was hired as a full-time lecturer.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
They must conduct due diligence to determine whether clients subsequently resell such items to Russia, according to Felix Helmstädter, a German sanctions expert and lecturer in law at Humboldt University in Berlin.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
Barack had moved from an adjunct position to a senior lecturer at the law school, which gave us a tuition break at the university’s Lab School, where Malia was soon to start preschool.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
