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 ( 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.
While practicing forming a two-person pillar, Sambuceti nervously climbed onto the back of an instructor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
With his 6-foot frame, blue eyes, and head of thick blond hair with not a strand out of place, he could be a hedge-fund whiz, or a boutique fitness instructor, or a visiting European aristocrat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 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
The new rules include a six-month wait for learner drivers before taking a practical test, as well as completing new training modules that must be signed off by an instructor or a parent or guardian.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
There were eight in their class, and although their instructor was a scythe, Citra and Rowan were the only apprentices.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
