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Synonyms

teacher

American  
[tee-cher] / ˈti tʃər /

noun

  1. a person who teaches or instructs, especially as a profession; instructor.

teacher British  
/ ˈtiːtʃə /

noun

  1. a person whose occupation is teaching others, esp children

  2. a personified concept that teaches

    nature is a good teacher
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonteacher noun
  • self-teacher noun
  • teacherless adjective
  • teachership noun
  • underteacher noun

Etymology

Origin of teacher

First recorded in 1250–1300, teacher is from the Middle English word techer. See teach, -er 1

Compare meaning

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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.

Yehuda Bandel, a 70-year-old retired teacher living in a suburb of the coastal city of Tel Aviv, felt the same joy.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

I liked it and was impatient with it in equal measure, the way a teacher feels about a lazy, gifted child.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

In the short term, she said it had increased teacher workload rather than cut it because they had still been marking alongside the technology.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

One parent said she was never worried anything underhand was happening and that Blackmore had been "a really good teacher".

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

Mr. Grayson was a good teacher who never yelled and who usually let Bat wear his earmuffs if things got too loud.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

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.