tutor

[ too-ter, tyoo- ]

/ ˈtu tər, ˈtyu- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tutor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning, especially a private instructor.

a teacher of academic rank lower than instructor in some American universities and colleges.

a teacher without institutional connection who assists students in preparing for examinations.

(especially at Oxford and Cambridge) a university officer, usually a fellow, responsible for teaching and supervising a number of undergraduates.

the guardian of a boy or girl below the age of puberty or majority.

verb (used with object)

to act as a tutor to; teach or instruct, especially privately.

to have the guardianship, instruction, or care of.

to instruct underhandedly; coach: to tutor a witness before he testifies.

Archaic.

to train, school, or discipline.
to admonish or reprove.

verb (used without object)

to act as a tutor or private instructor.

to study privately with a tutor.

Nearby words

tutee, tutelage, tutelary, tutenag, tutiorism, tutor, tutorage, tutoress, tutorial, tutorial system, tutoyer

Origin of tutor

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tūtor protector, equivalent to tū- (variant stem of tuērī to guard; see tutelage) + -tor -tor

Related forms

tu·tor·less, adjectivetu·tor·ship, nounmis·tu·tor, verbsub·tu·tor, noun

sub·tu·tor·ship, nounun·der·tu·tor, nounwell-tu·tored, adjective

Synonym study

6. See teach.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tutoring

I took on work in the evenings tutoring wealthy high-school students in math.
Did My Education Cost Too Much?|Jessica Feldman|September 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Today, more offer mentoring programs, tutoring, and extra counseling to help ease the transition.
The College Admissions Crash|Kathleen Kingsbury|August 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Merryman, a lawyer turned writer/editor and operator of a tutoring program for inner-city kids, does not have children of her own.
Parenting for Smarties|John Douglas Marshall|September 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
But the tutoring sections were only for the "plutes" or the athletes, many of whom were subsidized by fraternities or alumni.
The Plastic Age|Percy Marks

Through your management and your tutoring has that been done.
The Captiva and The Mostellaria|Plautus
Another professor explained that he got his clothes by tutoring dull students, another by book reviewing.
The Unpopular Review, Volume II Number 3|Various
Here he supported himself by tutoring, and by writing for electrical magazines and for a daily paper.
The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 4|Various
Although a Roman Catholic priest he lived for a time at Cambridge where he did some tutoring.
A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II (of II)|Augustus de Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for tutoring

tutor

/ (ˈtjuːtə) /

noun

a teacher, usually instructing individual pupils and often engaged privately

(at universities, colleges, etc) a member of staff responsible for the teaching and supervision of a certain number of students

Scots law the guardian of a pupilSee pupil 1 (def. 2)

verb

to act as a tutor to (someone); instruct

(tr) to act as guardian to; have care of

(intr) mainly US to study under a tutor

(tr) rare to admonish, discipline, or reprimand

Derived Formstutorage or tutorship, noun

Word Origin for tutor

C14: from Latin: a watcher, from tuērī to watch over

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

Word Origin and History for tutoring (1 of 2)

tutor

late 14c., "guardian, custodian," from Old French tutour "guardian, private teacher," from Latin tutorem (nominative tutor) "guardian, watcher," from tutus, variant past participle of tueri "watch over," of unknown origin. Specific sense of "senior boy appointed to help a junior in his studies" is recorded from 1680s.

Word Origin and History for tutoring (1 of 2)

tutor

1590s, from tutor (n.). Related: Tutored; tutoring.

tutor

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of tutor

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for tutoring

British Dictionary definitions for tutoring

tutor

noun

verb

Word Origin for tutor

Word Origin and History for tutoring (1 of 2)

tutor

Word Origin and History for tutoring (1 of 2)

tutor