proctor
Americannoun
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a person appointed to keep watch over students at examinations.
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an official charged with various duties, especially with the maintenance of good order.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a member of the teaching staff of any of certain universities having the duties of enforcing discipline
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(in a college or university) a supervisor or monitor who invigilates examinations, enforces discipline, etc
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(formerly) an agent, esp one engaged to conduct another's case in a court
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(formerly) an agent employed to collect tithes
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Church of England one of the elected representatives of the clergy in Convocation and the General Synod
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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proctorshipnoun
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subproctornoun
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subproctorshipnoun
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proctorialadjective
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subproctorialadjective
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proctoriallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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proctorsimple
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proctorssimple
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have proctoredperfect
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has proctoredperfect
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am proctoringprogressive
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are proctoringprogressive
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is proctoringprogressive
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have been proctoringperfect progressive
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has been proctoringperfect progressive
Past
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proctoredsimple
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had proctoredperfect
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was proctoringprogressive
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were proctoringprogressive
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had been proctoringperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing proctor
This Week In Culture: September 14–20, 2019
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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.
See Examples For:
She applied and soon landed an interview, conducted by an unseen AI proctor with a male-sounding voice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 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
Ambrozich accompanies her teams for longer trips to proctor exams and monitor study hall sessions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 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
“I only have a moment,” the proctor said.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Princeton just revised its 133-year-old honor code to require exam proctors because cheating has become so temptingly easy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Kayla and Kellie had turned in test papers with what the proctors deemed unusual similarities.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022
At its core, Honorlock taps into students’ webcams during tests and uses AI to alert remote human proctors of any suspicious activity, such as if a student takes out their phone during an exam.
From The Verge ● Feb. 16, 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
One girl went to fetch the proctors from over by the schoolhouse.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
To gain entry to the program, firms must meet a slate of requirements, among them certifying a minimum number of people in a proctored exam and meeting Anthropic’s bar for “deploying Claude responsibly,” Kadon added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 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
“Students are asked to agree to these decisions, but they have no meaningful power not to consent,” said Guy McHendry, an associate professor at Creighton University, which has used Examity for some proctored exams.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 1, 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
For more than a century, Princeton University prided itself on an honor code so revered that proctoring during exams was banned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Detect’s hub is small enough to carry for travel, and telehealth proctoring costs an extra $20.
From The Verge ● Jun. 3, 2022
As the pandemic winds down, and test takers can gather in person again, the remote proctoring industry may soon be in lower demand and face far less scrutiny.
From New York Times ● May 27, 2022
In some colleges the honor system is found, under which even proctoring at examinations does not exist, as all disciplinary matters, including the decision in serious offenses like cheating, rest with the student council.
From College Teaching Studies in Methods of Teaching in the College by Klapper, Paul
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.
