guru

American  

[goor-oo, goo-roo] / ˈgʊər u, gʊˈru /

noun

• gurus
  plural

1. Hinduism. a preceptor giving personal religious instruction.

2. an intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.

3. any person who counsels or advises; mentor.

   The elder senator was her political guru.

4. a leader in a particular field.

   the city's cultural gurus.

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guru British  

/ ˈɡuːruː, ˈɡʊruː /

noun

1. a Hindu or Sikh religious teacher or leader, giving personal spiritual guidance to his disciples

2. derogatory a leader or chief theoretician of a movement, esp a spiritual or religious cult

3. facetious a leading authority in a particular field

   a cricketing guru

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guru Cultural  

1. In Hinduism, a teacher or spiritual leader.

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Discover More

By extension, a “guru” is a teacher who attracts disciples or followers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• guruship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gurus
  plural

Etymology

Origin of guru

1820–30; < Hindi gurū < Sanskrit guru venerable, weighty

Explanation

A guru is a spiritual teacher and leader, particularly in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It has been said that your guru will find you when you are ready for your study — your journey — to begin. The noun guru is a Sanskrit word which also means “weighty,” or “grave.” A guru might teach you about meditation and compassion, or how to live your life according to certain precepts and truths. There is also another kind of guru — an expert leader in any field. You can be a guru of accounting or even of pizza-making if you are very good at it and can guide others to greater understanding.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guru gurus

The average year sees the New York Stock Exchange experience 21 days when downside volume is 80% or more of the action, according to BTIG’s technical guru Jonathan Krinsky.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Unfortunately, as JPMorgan energy guru Michael Cembalest recently put it, we’re “in divinity school” where rationality is roughly equated with atheism when the subject is climate and energy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The vision that bore his name became Auroville in 1968 through the work of his French-born spiritual companion Mirra Alfassa, who herself became a guru known as "The Mother".

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

"GK Venkatesh was my teacher, guru and encouraged me to write orchestra scores," Ilaiyaraaja recalled in an interview later.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

And just like that, the pretty lady—Mrs. Annie Thayer was her name, I quickly learned—told me the whole tale about how her father received three opal rings from a powerful guru during his sailing days.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Jesse Mecham wants to motivate you about money the way fitness gurus get you up off the couch to train for a 5K.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

This is not the language of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, the gurus of value investing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Variant was founded in 2009 by the now CIO of asset manger Prevatt Capital, Jonathan Tepper, under a belief that “robust, repeatable tools work better than gurus with crystal balls.”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026

He says he often sees self-proclaimed "fitness gurus" on social media who are encouraging others to reduce their sleep to fit more in, but he believes that's not the answer.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026

This would set off a barrage of laughing commentary from my elder siblings, gurus of life and wisdom who had seen and done it all.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

Related Words

• master
• teacher
• tutor