instructor
Americannoun
-
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
Etymology
Origin of instructor
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin, equivalent to instruc-, variant stem of instruere ( see instruct) + -tor -tor
Compare meaning
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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.
Despite this, she continued her connection with the natural world and took time after leaving school to work as an outdoor pursuits instructor before going to university in St Andrews.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
After that, I figured out how to start a class at Lewis & Clark, where I was a visiting instructor.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
To escape the broader crisis hitting the film industry, she is retraining as an outdoor instructor in Dorset, southwest England, earning minimum wage.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
They will also be required to complete 14 training modules, signed off by an approved instructor or a qualified supervising driver such as a parent or guardian.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
He spent part of a summer at the drama school at Northwestern, where the program included a three-day-a-week, three-hour improv session with Dawn Mora, a venerated instructor.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
