teach
verb (used with object)
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
teach
1 American
[teech]
/ titʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
teaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taught,
past participle, past
-
teaching
present participle
-
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
She teaches mathematics.
- Synonyms:
- coach
-
to impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction to.
He teaches a large class.
- Synonyms:
- coach, indoctrinate, school, drill, discipline, enlighten, inform
verb (used without object)
-
teaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taught,
past participle, past
-
teaching
present participle
noun
-
teaches
plural
Teach
2
American
[teech]
/ titʃ /
noun
teach
1
British
/ tiːtʃ /
verb
-
to help to learn; tell or show (how)
to teach someone to paint
to teach someone how to paint
-
to give instruction or lessons in (a subject) to (a person or animal)
to teach French
to teach children
she teaches
-
(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to cause to learn or understand
experience taught him that he could not be a journalist
-
Also: teach someone a lesson. informal to cause (someone) to suffer the unpleasant consequences of some action or behaviour
Teach
2
British
/ tiːtʃ /
noun
Synonym Usage
Teach, instruct, tutor, train, educate share the meaning of imparting information, understanding, or skill. Teach is the broadest and most general of these terms and can refer to almost any practice that causes others to develop skill or knowledge: to teach children to write; to teach marksmanship to soldiers; to teach tricks to a dog. Instruct almost always implies a systematic, structured method of teaching: to instruct paramedics in techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Tutor refers to the giving of usually private instruction or coaching in a particular subject or skill: to tutor a child in ( a foreign language, algebra, history, or the like ). Train lays stress on the development of desired behaviors through practice, discipline, or the use of rewards or punishments: to train a child to be polite; to train recruits in military skills; to train a dog to heel. Educate, with a root sense of “to lead forth from,” refers to the imparting of a specific body of knowledge, especially one that equips a person to practice a profession: to educate a person for a high school diploma; to educate someone for the law.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
teachsimple
-
teachessimple
-
have taughtperfect
-
has taughtperfect
-
am teachingprogressive
-
are teachingprogressive
-
is teachingprogressive
-
have been teachingperfect progressive
-
has been teachingperfect progressive
Past
-
taughtsimple
-
had taughtperfect
-
was teachingprogressive
-
were teachingprogressive
-
had been teachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of teach
First recorded before 900; Middle English techen, Old English tǣcan; akin to token
Explanation
To teach is to transfer ideas or skills to another person. As an old saying goes, "Give someone a fish, they eat for a day, teach someone to fish and they eat for a lifetime." I hope they like seafood. The Old English word tǣcan, which became the Middle English techen, meant "to show or point out." But the Old English also had another word for teach — læran — which eventually became the modern "learn," with the current meaning of receiving knowledge rather than giving it. If someone tries to "teach you a lesson," he or she tries to punish you for something you've done in order that you won't do it again.
Vocabulary lists containing teach
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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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:
From online influencers to Reddit threads and group chats, it’s not the first time discussions have sparked around whose responsibility it is to teach young boys about consent, boundaries and rape culture.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
"It's about building their resilience... what skills can we teach rather than change their outcomes?"
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The robotics field is pursuing the same playbook that powered the rise of large language models, aiming to teach AI models about the physical world by feeding them as much data as possible.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Yet, this tense adventure makes a strong case that bad parents can still teach good lessons, even when a kid strives to live in opposition to their folks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
“You’d better call your mom and tell her we’re going to be a while longer. I need to teach you a few things about boundaries.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Appeared in the September 9, 2026, print edition as 'What They Teach Teachers in Grad School'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
"Teach pupils for local jobs, Burnham to tell schools", the Guardian writes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Teach the good, the bad, the ugly and the shameful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Teach people to look for the Jacob Young catch.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025
“I know you’re not mean deep down inside,” Teach went on.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Emmanuel Saez, an economist who teaches at University of California, Berkeley, is credited as one of the authors of Proposition 40.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
"Our study teaches us lessons for how we communicate about AI," says Bahador Bahrami, who is also a senior author of the study and an expert in social neuroscience.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
In the same way that cognitive behavioral therapy teaches patients to recontextualize their thoughts and feelings to produce different behaviors, writing stand-up requires people to reexamine their struggles and recontextualize them into punch lines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Mr. Alexander teaches the history of science and mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“The star? My word. Lawdy, lawdy. The star? Here in my room. Little ol’ Og Loring teaches a star.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
As a member of the Moneyist Facebook Group says, “My momma taught me to be polite, but these people are usually vultures. Just hang up, say nothing.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
In the past year, the trust has taught more than 4,000 young people to spot the signs of stalking, understand what healthy relationships are, and how to get help.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
When Hua Yan’s 18th-century painting “Brushfire With Animals Fleeing” was first exhibited in a 1990 show, it taught U.S. audiences about the aesthetics of strangeness in early modern Chinese painting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
His 93-year-old neighbor, a retired fire chief, taught him much of what he knows about surviving fires in the Santa Monica Mountains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
The school had two sleds, three dogs to the sled, and he taught us how to race.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
At a company that he envisioned as a cross between Bell Labs and the Manhattan Project, the research began by teaching AI to play Pong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
As an aspiring pilot, he said schools should not just provide work experience opportunities, but additional teaching on other aspects of adult life outside of work.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Mallat also noted mathematicians are needed for teaching, although the rapid advancement of AI will impact this area too.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Older adults may therefore play a distinct role in supporting younger people through mentorship, teaching, and storytelling.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
He wasn't answering her starposts or teaching classes.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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