docent
Americannoun
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a college or university lecturer.
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a person who is a knowledgeable guide, especially one who conducts visitors through a museum and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions.
noun
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a voluntary worker who acts as a guide in a museum, art gallery, etc
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(in the US) a lecturer in some colleges or universities
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of docent
1630–40; < German Dozent < Latin docent- (stem of docēns, present participle of docēre ), equivalent to doc- teach + -ent -ent
Explanation
If you’re a docent, you’re a teacher at a college or university. In most countries, you’d rank right below a professor. Docent came into English by way of German, tracing back to the Latin word docere, meaning “teach.” Docent typically refers to someone who teaches at a college or university, but the term can be used more broadly to mean "someone who promotes learning." If you take a museum tour, it might be led by a docent, a volunteer who acts as a guide to the museum’s collection. Pronounce docent with a long “o” sound and a soft “c”: “DOH-sent.”
Vocabulary lists containing docent
Little Fires Everywhere
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Patron Saints of Nothing
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Thunderhead
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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.
You’re not returning each object to its rightful home like a dutiful museum docent.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
Jennifer Koles, a nature enthusiast and former docent at Irvine Ranch Conservancy and Orange County Parks, said it’s not a guarantee but that folks can see it as “an early delight in the desert.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2025
I found her nametag from work as a docent in a historical museum.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
The docent was very informative and entertaining, and we learned a lot in just over an hour.
From Seattle Times • May 26, 2024
The docent giving the class a tour was elderly and thin and looked as if all the juice had been sucked out of him through a straw via his pursed mouth.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
