schoolmaster

American  

[skool-mas-ter, -mah-ster] / ˈskulˌmæs tər, -ˌmɑ stər /

noun

1. a man who presides over or teaches in a school.

2. anything that teaches or directs.

   Life can be a harsh schoolmaster.

3. a snapper, Lutjanus apodus, a food fish found in Florida, the West Indies, etc.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to teach or direct in the capacity of schoolmaster.

schoolmaster British  

/ ˈskuːlˌmɑːstə /

noun

1. a man who teaches in or runs a school

2. a person or thing that acts as an instructor

3. a food fish, Lutjanus apodus, of the warm waters of the Caribbean and Atlantic: family Lutjanidae (snappers)

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verb

1. to be a schoolmaster

Other Word Forms

• schoolmastering
  noun
• schoolmastership
  noun
• schoolmasterish
  adjective
• schoolmasterly
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of schoolmaster

First recorded in 1175–1225, schoolmaster is from the Middle English word scolemaister. See school ¹, master

Example Sentences

In Silber’s revival, the wise schoolmaster Mr. Lundie is Widow Lundie, and the town flirt Meg Brockie is a pub owner pushing middle age.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

The Post likened him to Ichabod Crane, the fictional schoolmaster in the Washington Irving short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Her mother was born the daughter of a Methodist schoolmaster but was orphaned and taken in by a Muslim man who prayed five times a day.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2023

Dr. Farmer began his work in the Haitian village of Cange, where he met his future wife, Didi Bertrand, the daughter of a local schoolmaster.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2022

“Yes, and who remembers the schoolmaster of them early years, him whose final resting place is right outside in the Balm of Gilead graveyard? Who remembers the terrible Increase Whittlesey of blessed memory?”

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck