professor
Americannoun
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a teacher of the highest academic rank in a college or university, who has been awarded the title Professor in a particular branch of learning; a full professor.
a professor of Spanish literature.
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any teacher who has the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor.
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a teacher.
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an instructor in some art or skilled sport.
a professor of singing; a professor of boxing.
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a person who professes or declares particular sentiments, beliefs, etc.
noun
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the principal lecturer or teacher in a field of learning at a university or college; a holder of a university chair
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any teacher in a university or college See also associate professor assistant professor full professor
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a person who claims skill and instructs others in some sport, occupation, etc
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a person who professes his opinions, beliefs, etc
Other Word Forms
- nonprofessorial adjective
- nonprofessorially adverb
- professorial adjective
- professorialism noun
- professorially adverb
- pseudoprofessorial adjective
- subprofessor noun
- unprofessorial adjective
- unprofessorially adverb
Etymology
Origin of professor
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English from Medieval Latin prōfessor “one who has taken the vows of a religious order,” Latin: “a public lecturer,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + -fet-, combining form of fatērī “to acknowledge, declare” + -tor -tor, with tt becoming ss
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.
Ben Rhodes-Kropf grew up dreaming of a spot at MIT, where his father, Matt Rhodes-Kropf is a professor in the finance department.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
When DI Glyn Walsh returns unexpectedly early from bereavement leave, he and DS Sion Dearden work together to solve the perplexing murder of an esteemed university professor.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
Shohreh Farzan is an associate professor of population and public health at USC.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Jake Bailey, a professor at the University of Minnesota who studies how microbes influence Earth's systems, said the findings challenge long-standing assumptions about these rock structures.
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026
It was sometimes difficult to believe that Dr. Roland was a tenured professor in the Social Science Department of this, a distinguished college.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
