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lecturer

American  
[lek-cher-er] / ˈlɛk tʃər ər /

noun

  • lecturers
    plural
  1. a person who lectures.

  2. an academic rank given in colleges and universities to a teacher ranking below assistant professor.


lecturer British  
/ ˈlɛktʃərə /

noun

  1. a person who lectures

  2. a teacher in higher education without professorial status

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of lecturer

First recorded in 1560–70; lecture + -er 1

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Explanation

A lecturer is someone who stands up in front of a class and gives an organized talk designed to teach you something. There are lots of lecturers at colleges and universities. Although many professors lecture, in this country the title lecturer usually refers to a teacher who is not a permanent member of the faculty but one of the many college instructors who does not have tenure. The lecturer may even be hired for a single semester or year. The title is used slightly differently in England. There are some professional lecturers — people, like former President Bill Clinton, who make their living by going around the world giving speeches.

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Vocabulary lists containing lecturer

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:

But Dan Plumley, senior lecturer in sport finance at Loughborough University in the UK, believes FSG have no immediate plans to cede complete control.

From Barron's Aug. 14, 2026

Dr Kate Ashbrook, a conservation ecologist and senior lecturer at the University of Worcester, said the most important thing to do should be to "protect the unburnt habitat".

From BBC Aug. 8, 2026

“Traditionally, at age 60, target-date funds go mainly into bonds. I disagree with that strategy,” said Robert Pozen, a senior lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

From MarketWatch Aug. 7, 2026

Tayseer Al-Hassan, 54, a lecturer at Erada International Academy, also recalled Nov. 22.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 5, 2026

She would not have paid a kobo at the medical center; at least there was still that benefit to being a lecturer.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A 22-year-old Kabul University student said lecturers "have warned us... that if we don't have a proper Islamic appearance, which includes beards and head covering, they will deduct our marks".

From Barron's Feb. 19, 2026

She said this work was being carried out "in collaboration" with students, teachers, and colleges lecturers along with training providers and industry.

From BBC Feb. 2, 2026

In her preface to “Inhabit the Poem,” she writes that the “popular belief that ‘gatekeepers’—publishers, university lecturers, anthologists, and advertisers—create the longevity of the authors we call ‘canonical’ is false.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 26, 2025

Students and lecturers held a protest over the potential future of modern languages courses after a university suspended entry for new students.

From BBC Nov. 25, 2025

The country was starved of hope, cars stuck for days in long, sweaty petrol lines, pensioners raising wilting placards demanding their pay, lecturers gathering to announce yet one more strike.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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