instructor
Americannoun
-
instructors
plural
-
a person who instructs; teacher.
- Synonyms:
- pedagogue, preceptor, schoolmaster, tutor
-
a teacher in a college or university who ranks below an assistant professor.
noun
-
someone who instructs; teacher
-
a university teacher ranking below assistant professor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of instructor
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin, equivalent to instruc-, variant stem of instruere ( see instruct) + -tor -tor
Compare meaning
How does instructor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An instructor is a teacher. One can be an instructor of just about anything, but it usually applies to teaching hands-on skills, like a water-skiing instructor or the instructor of the knitting class held at the community center. When you instruct, or teach, other people how to do something, you are their instructor. At a college, you might hear some of the people who teach classes referred to as instructors and others as professors. An instructor might teach only part-time, or be a graduate student, or, for the moment at least, not be on the path to receiving the title of professor. Still, instructors are teachers: they have their own classes and students.
Vocabulary lists containing instructor
Occupations
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List 2
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -er, -or
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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:
He says he found a supportive community and, after studying hard, he now works as a local gym instructor.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Yuriy, a senior instructor who led one of the squads across the gruelling obstacle course, has at times pondered the necessity of such trials given the nature of drone warfare.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The playlist changes instructor to instructor, but the moves are always beat-driven.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
For Beatrix, a 20-minute journey with her relative ended up being a long wait in gridlock, but despite the pressure she said her driving instructor would have been impressed with her performance.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Do you remember a few summers ago we sent you to that day camp where the swimming instructor wouldn’t let you advance from tadpole to guppy?”
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
Ukraine's instructors say this change means conventional soldiers have to to be even better prepared for the mental hardships.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
None of the allegations in our investigation relate to these instructors, but the four women say the convictions raise serious questions about the college's culture.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
In their report, the staffers also noted that there have been few well-run studies assessing the safety and efficacy of peptides, which are essentially instructors, telling amino-acid chains how to fix or improve certain cells.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
“But the way our instructors teach—and what they teach—all comes from Joan and Lee.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
A stark warning issued by survival school instructors flashed through his mind—never wear wedding rings into combat.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
