to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
She teaches mathematics.
to impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction to.
He teaches a large class.
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, 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.
First recorded before 900; Middle English techen, Old English tǣcan; akin to token
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.
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Teach slavery and Reconstruction with the same seriousness as the Constitution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
Eve Graham - who has also been awarded an OBE - and the New Seekers enjoyed international success with tracks like I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025
Teach people to look for the Jacob Young catch.
From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025
Randomly, I saw a Teach for America group promoting in the quad at school.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025
“I don’t need to major in it. Teach it, maybe, but you don’t need class to study life. Besides, I was thinking of art school.”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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.
