adjunct

American  

[aj-uhngkt] / ˈædʒ ʌŋkt /

noun

1. something added to another thing but not essential to it.

   Synonyms:

   supplement, appendix

2. a person associated with lesser status, rank, authority, etc., in some duty or service; assistant.

   Synonyms:

   attaché, aide

3. a person working at an institution, as a college or university, without having full or permanent status.

   My lawyer works two nights a week as an adjunct, teaching business law at the college.

4. Grammar. a modifying form, word, or phrase depending on some other form, word, or phrase, especially an element of clause structure with adverbial function.

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adjective

1. joined or associated, especially in an auxiliary or subordinate relationship.

2. attached or belonging without full or permanent status.

   an adjunct surgeon on the hospital staff.

adjunct British  

/ ˈædʒʌŋkt, əˈdʒʌŋktɪv /

noun

1. something incidental or not essential that is added to something else

2. a person who is subordinate to another

3. grammar

   1. part of a sentence other than the subject or the predicate

   2. (in systemic grammar) part of a sentence other than the subject, predicator, object, or complement; usually a prepositional or adverbial group

   3. part of a sentence that may be omitted without making the sentence ungrammatical; a modifier

4. logic another name for accident

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adjective

1. added or connected in a secondary or subordinate position; auxiliary

Related Words

See addition.

Other Word Forms

• adjunctive
  adjective
• adjunctly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of adjunct

1580–90; < Latin adjunctus joined to (past participle of adjungere ), equivalent to ad- ad- + jung- (nasal variant of jug- yoke ¹ ) + -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

Adjunct means something added on, but not part of the whole. An adjunct professor is someone who is hired by a college to teach but isn't a full member of the faculty. This is a word you can figure out by taking it apart. From ad- "to" and -junct "join" (think "junction"), you can see that this is about joining something to another. "During lunch, Tim always sat at the girls' lacrosse-team lunch table, and they joked that he was an adjunct member of the team."

Example Sentences

Adjunct Associate Professor Enwu Liu notes that the research suggests drinking tea daily may be an easy way to support bone health as people grow older.

From Science Daily • Dec. 13, 2025

Adjunct professors at the University of Southern California’s prestigious film school are moving to unionize in pursuit of higher pay, benefits, better working conditions, expanded career opportunities and other demands.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2023

Adjunct faculty and graduate workers are often forced to apply for Medicaid.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2023

Adjunct professors, who can teach two courses per semester, can earn between about $3,100 and $5,100 for each class, according to the union.

From Washington Post • Mar. 21, 2022

When so regarded, it may possess an Adjunct which is not possessed by any Member of it taken separately.

From Symbolic Logic by Carroll, Lewis