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Synonyms

teacher

American  
[tee-cher] / ˈti tʃər /

noun

  1. a person who teaches or instructs, especially as a profession; instructor.

teacher British  
/ ˈtiːtʃə /

noun

  1. a person whose occupation is teaching others, esp children

  2. a personified concept that teaches

    nature is a good teacher
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonteacher noun
  • self-teacher noun
  • teacherless adjective
  • teachership noun
  • underteacher noun

Etymology

Origin of teacher

First recorded in 1250–1300, teacher is from the Middle English word techer. See teach, -er 1

Compare meaning

How does teacher compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Explanation

If the guy down the street shows you how to play the guitar and helps you develop a masterful plucking style, then he's your guitar teacher. A teacher is anyone who teaches things. Schools hire people to be teachers, but you don't have to work in a school to be a teacher. You can be a teacher to your children. If you're really good at making pizza, you can be a teacher to an aspiring pizza chef. If you're really passionate about methods of education, then you can become a teacher who teaches teachers how to teach better. Whoa.

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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.

Alex Roethler, a Wisconsin physics teacher, said watching the mission helped his students get "more engaged," and made lessons "feel more real."

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

Caitriona MacMillan, a former primary school teacher, died in Oakeshott House in 2023 after spending the final years of her life there.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Retired teacher Clive is 60 and widowed, and environmental officer Shelley-Ann is 55 and going through a bitter divorce.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Yehuda Bandel, a 70-year-old retired teacher living in a suburb of the coastal city of Tel Aviv, felt the same joy.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

But being teacher, she’d have to leave the cooking to Aunt Maud.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

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.