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
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
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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.
After a Navy career that included a stint as a Topgun instructor, Doug Denneny spent years working for defense giant Boeing and the U.S. unit of European weapons maker MBDA.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
Air Force colonel with more than 27 years of experience as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and test pilot.
From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026
“Why not let them get hands-on experience? Why just have them sit and watch?” said Rory Johnson, the child development instructor at the adult school.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Fallon - who is a driving instructor and had two cars covered in dents - said she was concerned her insurance premium would increase.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
When the exam is over, we’re called into the office at the back of the classroom to meet with the instructor.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
