mentor
noun
a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
mentor
1 American
[men-tawr, -ter]
/ ˈmɛn tɔr, -tər /
Mentor
2
American
[men-ter]
/ ˈmɛn tər /
noun
Mentor
3
American
[men-tawr, -ter]
/ ˈmɛn tɔr, -tər /
noun
mentor
1
British
/ ˈmɛntɔː /
noun
verb
Mentor
2
British
/ ˈmɛntɔː /
noun
Usage
What does mentor mean? A mentor is the main person you rely on to give you advice and guidance, especially in your career. Mentor can also be used as a verb meaning to act as a mentor, as in I mentor two of my students. If you have a mentor, you are the mentee. Example: It feels strange to me that I’m now more famous than my mentor—I wouldn’t be where I am without her.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mentor
First recorded in 1740–50; after Mentor (from Greek Méntōr )
Explanation
A mentor is a person who trains and guides someone, like the second-grade English teacher who saw the spark of creativity in your writing and encouraged you to become a professional author. The original Mentor was a character in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey; Mentor looked after Odysseus's family, particularly his son Telemachus, while Odysseus was off fighting in the Trojan War. Today the word is used to describe any person who acts as an advisor or teacher. As a noun, mentor describes the coach who taught you to play baseball. As a verb, mentor is what the coach does to help you improve your swing.
Vocabulary lists containing mentor
The Hunger Games
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Monster
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You Name It: Eponyms
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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.
Russell said another reason he decided to sell the items was to provide a portion of the proceeds for the Boston-based nonprofit MENTOR, which he co-founded more than three decades ago.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 22, 2021
June 9: “LEADER, MENTOR, COACH, FRIEND, LEGEND. Congratulations to the one & only @EricWynalda! Happy birthday Coach!”
From Seattle Times • Jun. 19, 2020
As part of this effort, they have launched a program called MENTOR, with the goal of empowering students from 1,000 high schools to design and build things like robots and go-carts.
From Slate • Jun. 13, 2012
MENTOR: Dad taught her about boats.One product of the attention drawn by Junger's book was the crafting of her own book about her experiences swordfishing, The Hungry Ocean.
From Time Magazine Archive
That the General was capable of warm resentment, this letter testifies: MENTOR, OHIO, September 20, 1880.
From McClure's Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 3, February 1896 by Various
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.
