teach
verb (used with object)
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
teach
1 American
[teech]
/ titʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
teaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taught,
past participle, past
-
teaching
present participle
-
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
She teaches mathematics.
- Synonyms:
- coach
-
to impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction to.
He teaches a large class.
- Synonyms:
- coach, indoctrinate, school, drill, discipline, enlighten, inform
verb (used without object)
-
teaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taught,
past participle, past
-
teaching
present participle
noun
-
teaches
plural
Teach
2
American
[teech]
/ titʃ /
noun
teach
1
British
/ tiːtʃ /
verb
-
to help to learn; tell or show (how)
to teach someone to paint
to teach someone how to paint
-
to give instruction or lessons in (a subject) to (a person or animal)
to teach French
to teach children
she teaches
-
(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to cause to learn or understand
experience taught him that he could not be a journalist
-
Also: teach someone a lesson. informal to cause (someone) to suffer the unpleasant consequences of some action or behaviour
Teach
2
British
/ tiːtʃ /
noun
Synonym Usage
Teach, instruct, tutor, train, educate share the meaning of imparting information, understanding, or skill. Teach is the broadest and most general of these terms and can refer to almost any practice that causes others to develop skill or knowledge: to teach children to write; to teach marksmanship to soldiers; to teach tricks to a dog. Instruct almost always implies a systematic, structured method of teaching: to instruct paramedics in techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Tutor refers to the giving of usually private instruction or coaching in a particular subject or skill: to tutor a child in ( a foreign language, algebra, history, or the like ). Train lays stress on the development of desired behaviors through practice, discipline, or the use of rewards or punishments: to train a child to be polite; to train recruits in military skills; to train a dog to heel. Educate, with a root sense of “to lead forth from,” refers to the imparting of a specific body of knowledge, especially one that equips a person to practice a profession: to educate a person for a high school diploma; to educate someone for the law.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
teachsimple
-
teachessimple
-
have taughtperfect
-
has taughtperfect
-
am teachingprogressive
-
are teachingprogressive
-
is teachingprogressive
-
have been teachingperfect progressive
-
has been teachingperfect progressive
Past
-
taughtsimple
-
had taughtperfect
-
was teachingprogressive
-
were teachingprogressive
-
had been teachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of teach
First recorded before 900; Middle English techen, Old English tǣcan; akin to token
Explanation
To teach is to transfer ideas or skills to another person. As an old saying goes, "Give someone a fish, they eat for a day, teach someone to fish and they eat for a lifetime." I hope they like seafood. The Old English word tǣcan, which became the Middle English techen, meant "to show or point out." But the Old English also had another word for teach — læran — which eventually became the modern "learn," with the current meaning of receiving knowledge rather than giving it. If someone tries to "teach you a lesson," he or she tries to punish you for something you've done in order that you won't do it again.
Vocabulary lists containing teach
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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.
See Examples For:
The city is also developing AI literacy classes for high-school students to teach them how the technology works and educate them on its risks, ethical considerations and how it could have an impact on careers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Her unyielding respect for the world and all who inhabit it still has many lessons to teach.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The new degree is different, meant to teach students not just to use AI systems but to design and build them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
"We have a diverse history, stretching back many hundreds of years, and we want to teach that history in its entirety, with all its highs and lows but with pride and a positive outlook."
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
He would also teach them how to do fake burps.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
Teach teens digital literacy, how to fact-check and verify information and figure out people’s credentials and motivations—such as who is getting paid for the products they’re endorsing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Teach the good, the bad, the ugly and the shameful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Eve Graham - who has also been awarded an OBE - and the New Seekers enjoyed international success with tracks like I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
Teach people to look for the Jacob Young catch.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025
I knew Teach couldn’t move, but like, I hadn’t expected him to be hooked up to so many tubes.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Your stories are a great reminder of what sports teaches high school students about life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
“Nobody teaches you in school the business of being an influencer,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Marketing professor Peter Fader tried to talk Fuld out of taking the class he teaches on applied probability models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
However, she found new ways of coping with her condition following a three-week intensive programme at Knockbracken Health Care Park in Belfast, which teaches psychological techniques to deal with pain rather than relying on medication.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
No one teaches them, they do it instinctively.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Mirra Andreeva says her parents taught them that sisters are “the closest people we’re gonna have in life,” and to protect that bond they rarely practice together to keep emotions from getting “messy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The point of the monetary reward is to build on all the skills being taught, and reward things like adaptability, innovation and judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
During her courses, she learnt about tinting, waxing, facials and massage, which was taught as a separate module.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
If contemporary reviews of “Girls” taught Millennials anything, it’s that your first response to the next generation of TV should be contempt.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
She already speaks two languages—her native Filipino, of course, and English, which was taught to Filipinos during the American occupation—but she wants to learn others.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
His mother worked as a teaching assistant and his father a painter, and they earned enough to buy a home, which was their priority.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Are OpenAI, Anthropic and Google teaching their artificial-intelligence models not to claim they’re sentient?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Northern Ireland's five largest teaching unions have voted to strike if the Department of Education does not address grievances over workload.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
In addition to field trips, there are also digital teaching resources about the attacks, such as "OOPA's World of Words," an online series of videos to build vocabulary and social literacy for younger readers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
She then spends four years in Niger, Colombia, and El Salvador as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching children and adults how to read and speak English.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
