teach
verb (used with object)
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
teach
1 American
[teech]
/ titʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
teaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taught,
past participle, past
-
teaching
present participle
-
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
She teaches mathematics.
- Synonyms:
- coach
-
to impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction to.
He teaches a large class.
- Synonyms:
- coach, indoctrinate, school, drill, discipline, enlighten, inform
verb (used without object)
-
teaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taught,
past participle, past
-
teaching
present participle
noun
-
teaches
plural
Teach
2
American
[teech]
/ titʃ /
noun
teach
1
British
/ tiːtʃ /
verb
-
to help to learn; tell or show (how)
to teach someone to paint
to teach someone how to paint
-
to give instruction or lessons in (a subject) to (a person or animal)
to teach French
to teach children
she teaches
-
(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to cause to learn or understand
experience taught him that he could not be a journalist
-
Also: teach someone a lesson. informal to cause (someone) to suffer the unpleasant consequences of some action or behaviour
Teach
2
British
/ tiːtʃ /
noun
Synonym Usage
Teach, instruct, tutor, train, educate share the meaning of imparting information, understanding, or skill. Teach is the broadest and most general of these terms and can refer to almost any practice that causes others to develop skill or knowledge: to teach children to write; to teach marksmanship to soldiers; to teach tricks to a dog. Instruct almost always implies a systematic, structured method of teaching: to instruct paramedics in techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Tutor refers to the giving of usually private instruction or coaching in a particular subject or skill: to tutor a child in ( a foreign language, algebra, history, or the like ). Train lays stress on the development of desired behaviors through practice, discipline, or the use of rewards or punishments: to train a child to be polite; to train recruits in military skills; to train a dog to heel. Educate, with a root sense of “to lead forth from,” refers to the imparting of a specific body of knowledge, especially one that equips a person to practice a profession: to educate a person for a high school diploma; to educate someone for the law.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
teachsimple
-
teachessimple
-
have taughtperfect
-
has taughtperfect
-
am teachingprogressive
-
are teachingprogressive
-
is teachingprogressive
-
have been teachingperfect progressive
-
has been teachingperfect progressive
Past
-
taughtsimple
-
had taughtperfect
-
was teachingprogressive
-
were teachingprogressive
-
had been teachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of teach
First recorded before 900; Middle English techen, Old English tǣcan; akin to token
Explanation
To teach is to transfer ideas or skills to another person. As an old saying goes, "Give someone a fish, they eat for a day, teach someone to fish and they eat for a lifetime." I hope they like seafood. The Old English word tǣcan, which became the Middle English techen, meant "to show or point out." But the Old English also had another word for teach — læran — which eventually became the modern "learn," with the current meaning of receiving knowledge rather than giving it. If someone tries to "teach you a lesson," he or she tries to punish you for something you've done in order that you won't do it again.
Vocabulary lists containing teach
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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.
See Examples For:
“A lot of us felt that we’re a public school — if a student comes to Michigan, they want to do a computer-science degree, we should be able to teach them,” Prakash explained.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
She said that parents need to think about how to teach their sons the ability to “break from the group.”
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
"It's about building their resilience... what skills can we teach rather than change their outcomes?"
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
We teach judges what the science shows while leaving the legal conclusions where they belong: with the judges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
He would also teach them how to do fake burps.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
As a Teach for America corps member, Laura taught first graders in Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Appeared in the May 14, 2026, print edition as 'You Can Teach an Old Drug New Tricks'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Teach people to look for the Jacob Young catch.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025
The charity Now Teach, set up by former Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway after she trained as a teacher herself at the age of 58, said one solution lay in career changers.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2025
“And how do people perform that ceremony of parting, Jane? Teach me; I’m not quite up to it.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Emmanuel Saez, an economist who teaches at University of California, Berkeley, is credited as one of the authors of Proposition 40.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
"Our study teaches us lessons for how we communicate about AI," says Bahador Bahrami, who is also a senior author of the study and an expert in social neuroscience.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Music Man Project is a charity based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, that teaches children and adults with learning disabilities to sing, sign and play original music.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Spasojevic, who teaches in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, is leading the university’s research into the local donkey population.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Good luck! We’ll wait up, we want to hear what he teaches you!”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
He taught himself Go, a board game older and vastly more complex than chess.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
As a member of the Moneyist Facebook Group says, “My momma taught me to be polite, but these people are usually vultures. Just hang up, say nothing.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
He rented space at a boatyard where "talented local people" were taught how to assemble and launch the device.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Now we all wait for baseball to return — and then to learn what this season taught Ohtani, one of the most unique athletes in the history of the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Experience has taught us to follow their guidance in matters of Arctic craft,” Elisha noted of the Inuit.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
As an aspiring pilot, he said schools should not just provide work experience opportunities, but additional teaching on other aspects of adult life outside of work.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Mallat also noted mathematicians are needed for teaching, although the rapid advancement of AI will impact this area too.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
This could help explain why older adults often have valuable strengths in teaching, mentoring, storytelling, and passing knowledge to younger generations.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
Hayes has had a much longer window to prepare for next summer’s World Cup, so she’s ditched the storytelling in favor of hands-on teaching.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
I rejoiced in teaching young people about linear equations and graphs.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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