professor

noun

pro·​fes·​sor prə-ˈfe-sər 

1

: one that professes, avows, or declares

2

a

: a faculty member of the highest academic rank at an institution of higher education

b

: a teacher at a university, college, or sometimes secondary school

c

: one that teaches or professes special knowledge of an art, sport, or occupation requiring skill

professorship

prə-ˈfe-sər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of professor in a Sentence

Professor Williams will be teaching the class.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Friday, March 27, event will now be called the Latino and Latina Roundtable Legacy Breakfast, Jose Zapata Calderon, a professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, wrote in an email. —Ryan Carter, Daily News, 19 Mar. 2026

Roberto González is chief advocacy officer at the Human Rights Foundation and an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law. —Roberto González, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2026

Remember blue books, those mini notebooklets professors distributed for exams? —Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 19 Mar. 2026

Although there have been concerns in the past that GLP-1 use may increase the risk of suicidal thinking, this study does not find evidence to support such a link, says coauthor Mark Taylor, MD, a professor at Griffith University School of Medicine in Southport, Queensland, Australia. —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 19 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing professor

• assistant professor
• associate professor
• regius professor

Rhymes for professor

• aggressor
• assessor
• compressor
• confessor
• depressor
• hairdresser
• necessar
• oppressor
• possessor
• processor
• repressor
• successor

Kids Definition

professor

noun

pro·​fes·​sor prə-ˈfes-ər 

: a teacher especially of the highest rank at a college or university

professorial

ˌprō-fə-ˈsōr-ē-əl 

ˌpräf-ə-, 

-ˈsȯr-

adjective

professorially

-ē-ə-lē 

adverb