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
- instructorial adjective
- instructorship noun
- instructress noun
- self-instructor noun
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.
Not only was he America’s most famous art instructor, he was also our unofficial art therapist, evangelizing painting as a way to find solace in our imagination.
From Salon • May 2, 2026
The Americans killed were "instructor officers" who "were carrying out training tasks" as part of anti-drug cooperation between the US and Mexico, Jauregui said.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
While practicing forming a two-person pillar, Sambuceti nervously climbed onto the back of an instructor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
As the class started and the instructor dimmed the lights to an orange glow, it hit me that hot yoga might be a horrible first date idea.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
She was only seventeen when she became an instructor.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
