guru

American  

[goor-oo, goo-roo] / ˈgʊər u, gʊˈru /

noun

• gurus
  plural

1. Hinduism. a preceptor giving personal religious instruction.

2. an intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.

3. any person who counsels or advises; mentor.

   The elder senator was her political guru.

4. a leader in a particular field.

   the city's cultural gurus.

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guru British  

/ ˈɡuːruː, ˈɡʊruː /

noun

1. a Hindu or Sikh religious teacher or leader, giving personal spiritual guidance to his disciples

2. derogatory a leader or chief theoretician of a movement, esp a spiritual or religious cult

3. facetious a leading authority in a particular field

   a cricketing guru

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guru Cultural  

1. In Hinduism, a teacher or spiritual leader.

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Discover More

By extension, a “guru” is a teacher who attracts disciples or followers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• guruship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gurus
  plural

Etymology

Origin of guru

1820–30; < Hindi gurū < Sanskrit guru venerable, weighty

Explanation

A guru is a spiritual teacher and leader, particularly in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It has been said that your guru will find you when you are ready for your study — your journey — to begin. The noun guru is a Sanskrit word which also means “weighty,” or “grave.” A guru might teach you about meditation and compassion, or how to live your life according to certain precepts and truths. There is also another kind of guru — an expert leader in any field. You can be a guru of accounting or even of pizza-making if you are very good at it and can guide others to greater understanding.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guru gurus

He could also get some political cover, in the form of an ongoing review by the longtime policy guru Baroness Casey.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

It’s a stunning collapse for a onetime ad man with a dodgy reputation who rose to become the go-to digital campaign guru for Latin America’s ascendant right wing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

“I’m not an election guru, but the potential for confusion with two Dan Sullivans is there,” said Joe Geldhof, a Juneau-based lawyer and Republican strategist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

"All of us, including the volunteers and support teams are deeply anguished," the Hindu guru, whose real name is Jagdish Vasudev, added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Gotham was founded by a value investment guru named Joel Greenblatt.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Then we tumble into the realm of inspirational gurus and thought leaders, where breathwork and manifesting meet motivational speak, popping with familiar verbal kernels like “sparking joy” and “habit formation.”

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

But some love gurus say there is an element of humanity that can get lost in the spreadsheet cells.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Variant was founded in 2009 by the now CIO of asset manger Prevatt Capital, Jonathan Tepper, under a belief that “robust, repeatable tools work better than gurus with crystal balls.”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026

His father scoffed at the self-help gurus and nurtured his interest in business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026

This would set off a barrage of laughing commentary from my elder siblings, gurus of life and wisdom who had seen and done it all.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

Related Words

• master
• teacher
• tutor