tutor
Americannoun
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tutors
plural
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a person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning, especially a private instructor.
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a teacher of academic rank lower than instructor in some American universities and colleges.
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a teacher without institutional connection who assists students in preparing for examinations.
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(especially at Oxford and Cambridge) a university officer, usually a fellow, responsible for teaching and supervising a number of undergraduates.
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the guardian of a boy or girl below the age of puberty or majority.
verb (used with object)
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tutors,
present (3rd person singular)
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tutored,
past participle, past
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tutoring
present participle
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to act as a tutor to; teach or instruct, especially privately.
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to have the guardianship, instruction, or care of.
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to instruct underhandedly; coach.
to tutor a witness before he testifies.
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Archaic.
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to train, school, or discipline.
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to admonish or reprove.
-
verb (used without object)
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tutors,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tutored,
past participle, past
-
tutoring
present participle
-
to act as a tutor or private instructor.
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to study privately with a tutor.
noun
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a teacher, usually instructing individual pupils and often engaged privately
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(at universities, colleges, etc) a member of staff responsible for the teaching and supervision of a certain number of students
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Scots law the guardian of a pupil See pupil 1
verb
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to act as a tutor to (someone); instruct
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(tr) to act as guardian to; have care of
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(intr) to study under a tutor
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rare (tr) to admonish, discipline, or reprimand
Synonym Usage
See teach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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subtutornoun
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subtutorshipnoun
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tutoragenoun
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tutorshipnoun
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undertutornoun
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mistutorverb
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tutorlessadjective
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well-tutoredadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tutorsimple
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tutorssimple
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have tutoredperfect
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has tutoredperfect
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am tutoringprogressive
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are tutoringprogressive
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is tutoringprogressive
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have been tutoringperfect progressive
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has been tutoringperfect progressive
Past
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tutoredsimple
-
had tutoredperfect
-
was tutoringprogressive
-
were tutoringprogressive
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had been tutoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tutor
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tūtor protector, equivalent to tū- (variant stem of tuērī to guard; see tutelage) + -tor -tor
Explanation
A tutor is someone who gives private instruction: tutors teach one-on-one. If you ever helped someone learn something, you could say you tutored them. "Tutor" is also the title of someone who works with students one-on-one. There are writing tutors, music tutors, math tutors, and history tutors. You can find a tutor for just about anything you'd like to learn. Tutoring also sometimes means being the guardian for someone. In all cases, tutors tend to be helpful to their tutees: the people they tutor.
Vocabulary lists containing tutor
Occupations
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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:
“Whether it is a nanny, a coach, a music teacher, a tutor, anyone who is around your child should be fully vetted and anything suspicious must be reported to law enforcement.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Then 12 years old, Ke was at a table outside of his Los Angeles school on a Saturday, working with his younger brother, David, and their English-language tutor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“AI is completely transforming the research process,” Madigan said, and in teaching, “the holy grail of learning science has always been the personal tutor, and in many ways, here we are.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Both Novack and Aggrey took lessons with a French tutor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
“She wishes me to tutor her every day before supper.”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
As of now, it covers the use of AI tutors, and that is shortsighted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Schools like Meadow Park, in Coventry, are adopting a range of approaches to improve pupils' reading skills, including weekly book club discussions led by tutors.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Obrokta said he offered administrators “an open checkbook” for tutors or other intervention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Michelle Crumm said that when her three children were in high school, they worked part time as tutors and on a golf course.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026
If her tutors could have taught her that, she would have listened to them with all her attention.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
Chatty and social, she volunteered in soup kitchens and tutored non-English speakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
She says her 11-year-old- daughter was tutored by Allen.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Simpson will have the luxury of being tutored by coach Sean McVay while sitting behind Stafford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Setting a story in a public high school when she herself had only been homeschooled and tutored on set, for example, was a challenge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2026
Professor Hirshbaum tutored Shirley on the various movements peculiar to the breed.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Money in a 529 plan can now pay for more than K-12 tuition, including books, tutoring and test fees, and it can pay for postsecondary credentialing programs in addition to higher education.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Its programs involve years of investment in a child to get them into college with tutoring, campus tours and summer programs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
He said we still could apply to receive public money this school year, but as a vendor providing educational services such as tutoring.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Then we need to pay attention when someone starts struggling ... Reach out early with counseling, tutoring, mentoring, or whatever support they need,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
I was pleasantly surprised when a bunch of kids added their names to volunteer for apartment setups and helping with free music lessons and tutoring for kids.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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