teacher
Americannoun
-
teachers
plural
noun
-
a person whose occupation is teaching others, esp children
-
a personified concept that teaches
nature is a good teacher
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of teacher
First recorded in 1250–1300, teacher is from the Middle English word techer. See teach, -er 1
Compare meaning
How does teacher compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
If the guy down the street shows you how to play the guitar and helps you develop a masterful plucking style, then he's your guitar teacher. A teacher is anyone who teaches things. Schools hire people to be teachers, but you don't have to work in a school to be a teacher. You can be a teacher to your children. If you're really good at making pizza, you can be a teacher to an aspiring pizza chef. If you're really passionate about methods of education, then you can become a teacher who teaches teachers how to teach better. Whoa.
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:
The new suits were filed by people who witnessed the shooting at the town’s secondary school, including Deidre Rushlow, a seventh-grade teacher who sheltered students under her desk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Walls teem with works by Church and others, including his teacher, the landscape artist Thomas Cole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The teacher said she was finishing her swim and approaching the sand when she heard a girl scream.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Head teacher Dawadi says better warning systems, including sirens and evacuation alerts, could have helped residents respond sooner.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
“The Butterfly’s target was Colonel Chamberlain. He was a thirty-four-year.old teacher who changed the outcome of the Civil War by helping win the Battle of Gettysburg,” said the girl who was probably Tess.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
As many as 300 teachers from other provinces have transferred to the capital.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
As a pupil at Pantglas, she had been inspired by her teachers and decided she wanted to follow in their footsteps.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
The list of today's woes goes on: Cuban roads and other infrastructure are in a decrepit state, no gasoline means no school buses, and there is a shortage of teachers.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
More than three quarters of those surveyed, which included former teachers, said they had felt "frequently or constantly burnt out" while at work.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Good thing, too, ’cause Mr. Harris is one of those “earn their respect before you earn their friendship” kind of teachers.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
