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full professor

American  

noun

  1. professor.


full professor British  

noun

  1. a university teacher of the highest academic rank

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of full professor

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

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.

Back in the U.S., in 1972, Mr. Edwards started teaching at the Livingston College campus of New Jersey’s Rutgers University, where he became a full professor in 1980 and retired 22 years later.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

It is just one of many alleged transgressions by Hofman, a full professor and former dean of Leiden’s archaeology faculty, and Hoogland, formerly a senior lecturer there.

From Science Magazine • May 19, 2024

Although it was better, Lee said, he twice was passed over for a promotion from associate professor to full professor.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2023

Ping-Chih Ho is a member of the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and a full professor at the University of Lausanne.

From Science Daily • Sep. 20, 2023

Irwin was a full professor at twenty-six and had the pale, hairless skin of a boy genius.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath