teach
verb (used with object)
to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in.
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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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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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:
But institutions teach lessons beyond their formal curriculum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
“It is more difficult to teach them the requisite skills from afar,” New York Fed researchers noted.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
"We're all willing and eager to learn and improve. I'm sure he'll teach us many things and help us win trophies this year."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
“I was already familiar with cumbia, because my mom would always teach me,” Uttapa says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
“But I didn’t really teach you to sew,” she said.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
As a Teach for America corps member, Laura taught first graders in Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Teach teens digital literacy, how to fact-check and verify information and figure out people’s credentials and motivations—such as who is getting paid for the products they’re endorsing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
The charity Now Teach, set up by former Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway after she trained as a teacher herself at the age of 58, said one solution lay in career changers.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2025
Randomly, I saw a Teach for America group promoting in the quad at school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025
“Smart beyond your years. There are places for a boy like you. General Heissmeyer’s schools. Best of the best. Teach the mechanical sciences too. Code breaking, rocket propulsion, all the latest.”
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Leniz Cortes, who teaches preschool at Krieger, used sick hours to attend Monday’s protest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
It’s like a proof of concept for the course for women she teaches, for just under $300 a head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
If the story of vitamin C and cancer teaches us anything, it is that science rarely moves in straight lines.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
"If everyone is the same, it teaches you in life you've got to have uniforms depending on your job," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
When we’d finished and I was ready to go, she said, “My sister Caroline teaches dance every Wednesday in the back of Papa Jay’s. There are lots of girls your age. You could join.”
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
This is the pasta that finally taught me how to shop at the farmers market: Start with a form, bring home one or two beautiful things and give them somewhere to land.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"Many years ago I worked in Skewen and taught her niece. The whole family were lovely. I would often bump into her in local shops and restaurants and was she was always lovely," said Maggie.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
She worked in finance for almost two decades and says her time as an investment analyst taught her to see writing as both a craft and a business.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Instead, her dad taught her how the pieces were actually supposed to move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Experience has taught us to follow their guidance in matters of Arctic craft,” Elisha noted of the Inuit.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
“I’ve been able to focus on patient care, research and teaching knowing that my child is thriving in a nurturing learning environment.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
“I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if it wasn’t for Randy teaching me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
As part of a range of activities, free eclipse glasses will be available with volunteers teaching families to watch safely.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The drumbeat of recent examples of AI models going rogue is teaching us humans that these cutting-edge tools are willing to go surprisingly far to achieve a goal—even if it means breaking a few rules.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
After lunch, Mrs. Tracy started teaching English without saying a word about the hand holding thing.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
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.
