tutor

[too-ter, tyoo-]

noun

1. a person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning, especially a private instructor.

2. a teacher of academic rank lower than instructor in some American universities and colleges.

3. a teacher without institutional connection who assists students in preparing for examinations.

4. (especially at Oxford and Cambridge) a university officer, usually a fellow, responsible for teaching and supervising a number of undergraduates.

5. the guardian of a boy or girl below the age of puberty or majority.

verb (used with object)

1. to act as a tutor to; teach or instruct, especially privately.

2. to have the guardianship, instruction, or care of.

3. to instruct underhandedly; coach.

   to tutor a witness before he testifies.

4. Archaic.

   1. to train, school, or discipline.

   2. to admonish or reprove.

verb (used without object)

1. to act as a tutor or private instructor.

2. to study privately with a tutor.

tutor

/ ˈtjuːtə /

noun

1. a teacher, usually instructing individual pupils and often engaged privately

2. (at universities, colleges, etc) a member of staff responsible for the teaching and supervision of a certain number of students

3. Scots law the guardian of a pupil See pupil 1

verb

1. to act as a tutor to (someone); instruct

2. (tr) to act as guardian to; have care of

3. (intr) to study under a tutor

4. rare,  (tr) to admonish, discipline, or reprimand

Other Word Forms

• tutorless adjective
• tutorship noun
• mistutor verb
• subtutor noun
• subtutorship noun
• undertutor noun
• well-tutored adjective
• tutorage noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tutor¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tūtor protector, equivalent to tū- (variant stem of tuērī to guard; tutelage ) + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of tutor¹

C14: from Latin: a watcher, from tuērī to watch over

Synonym Study

See teach.

Example Sentences

“Navigating high-school admissions can feel as overwhelming as college admissions,” said Whitney Shashou, founder and CEO of Admit NY, which creates bespoke plans for clients and offers tutoring for high-school entrance exams.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

In early September, House Republicans proposed slashing more than $5 billion from the $18.4 billion earmarked for Title I, putting at risk reading and math teachers, tutors and classroom technology.

Read more on Salon

If the problem persists, a child can be referred out for an outside evaluation, where they might be formally diagnosed with dyslexia or another reading disability and given more intensive tutoring.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

There are reports Al-Shamie used to work as a tutor teaching English and computer programming and his father is a surgeon.

Read more on BBC

The AI company notified employees over email that it was planning to downsize its team of generalist AI tutors, according to messages viewed by the publication.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• educator 
• instructor 
• lecturer 
• mentor 
• teacher