sensei
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of sensei
< Japanese: teacher, master, doctor < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese xiānsheng ( xiān ahead + shēng born)
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.
"One day he stumbles upon a samurai sensei who teaches him...about real discipline and how he can not only protect himself, but protect other people too."
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
He wanted to be a better person and a sensei worthy of the kids he instructed.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025
Since you are, by several rickety suspension bridges, the bigger Indiana Jones fan/expert between us, I’m happy to play the novice to your sensei as we run down what we just saw.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2023
It was one of his students, who had a plot of land near Granite Falls that he and his wife wanted to show the sensei.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 28, 2023
The sensei talked about the samurai and the feudal period in Japan, but she didn’t use the word “samurai.”
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
