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.

---

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

---

guru Cultural  

1. In Hinduism, a teacher or spiritual leader.

---

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

Veteran lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has admitted she "really screwed up" by dressing as a homeless person for Halloween.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

American lifestyle guru Martha Stewart apologized late Sunday for an "insensitive and not funny" Halloween costume after she appeared to dress up as a homeless person.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

“I’m not an election guru, but the potential for confusion with two Dan Sullivans is there,” said Joe Geldhof, a Juneau-based lawyer and Republican strategist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Prep track guru Rich Gonzalez calls him “the best athlete in the state.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

The door opened and the two armed men returned, between them the tall Talib in white, still wearing his dark John Lennon glasses, looking like some broad-shouldered, New Age mystic guru.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Then we tumble into the realm of inspirational gurus and thought leaders, where breathwork and manifesting meet motivational speak, popping with familiar verbal kernels like “sparking joy” and “habit formation.”

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 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

I’ve also looked for old people who could be my gurus.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• master
• teacher
• tutor

---