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.
"The goal is to bring the rest of the companies to the bargaining table," said Sean Sullivan, professor at the University of Washington and London School of Economics.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
The circular concept also works with numbers that loop like time on a clock, explained Dorian Goldfeld, a Columbia University mathematics professor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
The issue for Constance de Saint Laurent, a professor at Ireland's Maynooth University, "is not so much that people believe" disinformation, it is "that they see real news and they don't trust it anymore."
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
Martha Lincoln, a medical anthropology associate professor at San Francisco State, is among those who are opposed to AI.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
The flat had been empty for months, ever since the professor had gone back to work.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
