teacher
Americannoun
noun
-
a person whose occupation is teaching others, esp children
-
a personified concept that teaches
nature is a good teacher
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
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:
In high school, he developed a love for mathematics: “If the teacher said do every alternate problem, I’d do every problem, just simply for the fun of doing it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Lori Amann, who identified herself as a public-school teacher, wrote about how she is expected to report grades every quarter so parents can track their children’s progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Through the Linked Learning program, “they’re already getting a foot in the door in some form of career pathway,” according to Alycia Escobedo, lead teacher for Hollywood High School New Media Academy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
For years, De Salvo, an elementary-school teacher who lives in Dana Point, Calif., subscribed to a regional sports network to watch his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Miss Allen was principal and teacher at Allen Female Seminary, a Rochester school that Maggie and Kate had attended from time to time.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
There are lots of financial advisers who develop an expertise in helping people with unique circumstances — Canadians living in the U.S., teachers, dentists, military families and so forth.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“For far too long, it has been expected that school districts balance their budgets on the backs of students and teachers, when in reality school funding is determined at the state level.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
As English teachers have been trying to convince students for years, new readers are learning that “The Odyssey” is actually wildly entertaining.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
But others responding online said it was reasonable to give a sizeable amount, with one arguing that teachers were "woefully underpaid and undervalued".
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The brook flowed past the ruins of that school, and in it were all of the teachers, the principal, and the secretary, too, wearing life preservers, on their way to Canada.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
