proctor

American  

[prok-ter] / ˈprɒk tər /

noun

• proctors
  plural

1. a person appointed to keep watch over students at examinations.

2. an official charged with various duties, especially with the maintenance of good order.

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verb (used with or without object)

• proctors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• proctored,
  past participle,  past
• proctoring
  present participle

1. to supervise or monitor.

proctor British  

/ prɒkˈtɔːrɪəl, ˈprɒktə /

noun

1. a member of the teaching staff of any of certain universities having the duties of enforcing discipline

2. (in a college or university) a supervisor or monitor who invigilates examinations, enforces discipline, etc

3. (formerly) an agent, esp one engaged to conduct another's case in a court

4. (formerly) an agent employed to collect tithes

5. Church of England one of the elected representatives of the clergy in Convocation and the General Synod

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verb

1. (tr) to invigilate (an examination)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• proctorship
  noun
• subproctor
  noun
• subproctorship
  noun
• proctorial
  adjective
• subproctorial
  adjective
• proctorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• proctors
  plural

Participles

• proctoring
  present
• proctored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• proctor
  simple
• proctors
  simple
• have proctored
  perfect
• has proctored
  perfect
• am proctoring
  progressive
• are proctoring
  progressive
• is proctoring
  progressive
• have been proctoring
  perfect progressive
• has been proctoring
  perfect progressive

Past

• proctored
  simple
• had proctored
  perfect
• was proctoring
  progressive
• were proctoring
  progressive
• had been proctoring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will proctor
  simple
• will have proctored
  perfect
• will be proctoring
  progressive
• will have been proctoring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of proctor

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; contracted variant of procurator

Explanation

A proctor keeps an eye on students who are taking a test to make sure they don't cheat. The invention of the cell phone has certainly made proctors' lives tougher. For college entrance exams, students are often supervised by a professional proctor, while in less official situations, like a pop quiz, the proctor is usually the teacher herself. Proctor is both a noun and a verb, so you might say that a proctor's job is to proctor, or make sure no test-takers' eyes are straying. The Latin root word is procuratorem, which means "manager."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

proctor proctors proctored proctoring

When applying for a contract job at Mercor, applicants and former workers said they sat for a recorded interview with an unseen AI proctor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

The proctor administering an exam in his pre-calc class this spring leaned in and whispered, “What are you doing here?” as Beyer handed in his test.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2022

These are the workers who conduct study sessions, offer crunch-time tutoring, read term papers, and proctor and grade exams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2022

The next month, two hours before a General Chemistry II test, the university’s testing service told Mr. Ogletree in an email that the proctor would be checking his work area before the exam.

From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2022

Her proctor had more information about the program, he told Cora, and was available to talk about any concern.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

It goes back to the 19th century, when students petitioned to eliminate proctors during examinations, according to the student newspaper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

Kayla and Kellie had turned in test papers with what the proctors deemed unusual similarities.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022

The duration of the test, which will be administered at schools and testing centers with proctors, will be cut from three to two hours.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2022

San Antonio Independent School District offers weekly testing to every student and staff member, a commitment that requires proctors to collect nasal swabs on area campuses three days a week.

From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2021

The proctors arranged the socials to foster healthy relations between colored men and women, and to undo some of the damage to their personalities wrought by slavery.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

They were proctored by Civil Service Commission employees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Tryfman spent five years as president of the state Public Defenders Assn., according to her campaign website, and has proctored a high school program on civic duties and constitutional principles.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Dr. Radhakrishnan, 33, was going through a similar process, proctored by his father, using the same website.

From New York Times ● May 27, 2022

We drove to a larger town in search of Wi-Fi so I could take a medical school exam proctored on Zoom.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2022

Officials also are considering unusual measures to preserve testing if high school campuses and other venues for proctored exams remain off-limits because of the pandemic.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 12, 2020

Some classes have started reintroducing proctoring - the supervision of candidates during an examination - and spoken-word tests to avoid cheating, she said.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

On Monday, faculty voted to require proctoring in all in-person exams starting this summer, reversing a policy set in place in 1893 when Princeton introduced its honor code.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

As it shows, when Escalante’s students were accused by the College Board of cheating on the 1982 AP exam, they were allowed another try on a test with different questions and heavy proctoring.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 4, 2022

Detect’s hub is small enough to carry for travel, and telehealth proctoring costs an extra $20.

From The Verge ● Jun. 3, 2022

One very important college duty, the proctoring of examinations, which would seem to be an entirely legitimate function of the Student Government Association, the students themselves have not as yet been willing to assume.

From The Story of Wellesley by Florence Converse