guru
Americannoun
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gurus
plural
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Hinduism. a preceptor giving personal religious instruction.
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an intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.
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any person who counsels or advises; mentor.
The elder senator was her political guru.
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a leader in a particular field.
the city's cultural gurus.
noun
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a Hindu or Sikh religious teacher or leader, giving personal spiritual guidance to his disciples
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derogatory a leader or chief theoretician of a movement, esp a spiritual or religious cult
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facetious a leading authority in a particular field
a cricketing guru
Discover More
By extension, a “guru” is a teacher who attracts disciples or followers.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing guru
World Religions
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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:
"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
The average year sees the New York Stock Exchange experience 21 days when downside volume is 80% or more of the action, according to BTIG’s technical guru Jonathan Krinsky.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Unfortunately, as JPMorgan energy guru Michael Cembalest recently put it, we’re “in divinity school” where rationality is roughly equated with atheism when the subject is climate and energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
As famed improv guru Del Close said, there is truth in comedy — and that’s a place Root was excited to find himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
He wouldn’t have looked for alternative treatments or a guru or some faulty gene to blame.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Jesse Mecham wants to motivate you about money the way fitness gurus get you up off the couch to train for a 5K.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Beauty founder Patrick Starrr, fashion designer Aimee Song and the Home Edit’s organizational gurus Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are some of DBA’s clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
He says he often sees self-proclaimed "fitness gurus" on social media who are encouraging others to reduce their sleep to fit more in, but he believes that's not the answer.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 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
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.
