tutor
Americannoun
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tutors
plural
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a person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning, especially a private instructor.
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a teacher of academic rank lower than instructor in some American universities and colleges.
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a teacher without institutional connection who assists students in preparing for examinations.
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(especially at Oxford and Cambridge) a university officer, usually a fellow, responsible for teaching and supervising a number of undergraduates.
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the guardian of a boy or girl below the age of puberty or majority.
verb (used with object)
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tutors,
present (3rd person singular)
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tutored,
past participle, past
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tutoring
present participle
-
to act as a tutor to; teach or instruct, especially privately.
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to have the guardianship, instruction, or care of.
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to instruct underhandedly; coach.
to tutor a witness before he testifies.
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Archaic.
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to train, school, or discipline.
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to admonish or reprove.
-
verb (used without object)
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tutors,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tutored,
past participle, past
-
tutoring
present participle
-
to act as a tutor or private instructor.
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to study privately with a tutor.
noun
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a teacher, usually instructing individual pupils and often engaged privately
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(at universities, colleges, etc) a member of staff responsible for the teaching and supervision of a certain number of students
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Scots law the guardian of a pupil See pupil 1
verb
-
to act as a tutor to (someone); instruct
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(tr) to act as guardian to; have care of
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(intr) to study under a tutor
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rare (tr) to admonish, discipline, or reprimand
Synonym Usage
See teach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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subtutornoun
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subtutorshipnoun
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tutoragenoun
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tutorshipnoun
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undertutornoun
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mistutorverb
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tutorlessadjective
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well-tutoredadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tutorsimple
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tutorssimple
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have tutoredperfect
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has tutoredperfect
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am tutoringprogressive
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are tutoringprogressive
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is tutoringprogressive
-
have been tutoringperfect progressive
-
has been tutoringperfect progressive
Past
-
tutoredsimple
-
had tutoredperfect
-
was tutoringprogressive
-
were tutoringprogressive
-
had been tutoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tutor
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tūtor protector, equivalent to tū- (variant stem of tuērī to guard; see tutelage) + -tor -tor
Explanation
A tutor is someone who gives private instruction: tutors teach one-on-one. If you ever helped someone learn something, you could say you tutored them. "Tutor" is also the title of someone who works with students one-on-one. There are writing tutors, music tutors, math tutors, and history tutors. You can find a tutor for just about anything you'd like to learn. Tutoring also sometimes means being the guardian for someone. In all cases, tutors tend to be helpful to their tutees: the people they tutor.
Vocabulary lists containing tutor
Occupations
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The Suffix -or, Part 1
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"Brothers in Hope"
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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 Diocese of Sheffield, thrilled by the sight of students queueing down the road to worship to the pulsing sound of house music, fast-tracked Brain's route to priesthood despite the reservations of his ordination tutor.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
His martial instinct was further encouraged by his tutor Aristotle’s regard for Homer’s epics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“AI is completely transforming the research process,” Madigan said, and in teaching, “the holy grail of learning science has always been the personal tutor, and in many ways, here we are.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Watching YouTube videos, reading blogs and working with an AI tutor can only take you so far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The tutor later wrote, “I have never yet found an answer to the argument embodied in that question.”
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Why not infuse classrooms with self-paced AI tutors like Khanmigo or emulate the successful Alpha School in Austin, Texas?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Schools like Meadow Park, in Coventry, are adopting a range of approaches to improve pupils' reading skills, including weekly book club discussions led by tutors.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Michelle Crumm said that when her three children were in high school, they worked part time as tutors and on a golf course.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026
Other studies have shown students making gains with purpose-built AI tutors, particularly when teachers are directly involved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
“How would you get home? Roli tutors after school, and then he’d have to drive back to get you every day,” she says.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Chatty and social, she volunteered in soup kitchens and tutored non-English speakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Simpson will have the luxury of being tutored by coach Sean McVay while sitting behind Stafford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
He was tutored by his uncle, Étienne-Jean Delécluze, a polymath painter, art critic and novelist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Setting a story in a public high school when she herself had only been homeschooled and tutored on set, for example, was a challenge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2026
“I get to be tutored by my mother and my little sister.”
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
Money in a 529 plan can now pay for more than K-12 tuition, including books, tutoring and test fees, and it can pay for postsecondary credentialing programs in addition to higher education.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
He said we still could apply to receive public money this school year, but as a vendor providing educational services such as tutoring.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Then we need to pay attention when someone starts struggling ... Reach out early with counseling, tutoring, mentoring, or whatever support they need,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
As well as refreshing the curriculum in England, they say they are building new AI tutoring tools and introducing new vocational routes to get children into successful careers.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
“You’re supposed to be tutoring me,” he said with venom in his voice.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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