scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskä-lər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special field

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

Synonyms

• teacher
• sage
• pundit
• savant
• wizard

Examples of scholar in a Sentence

She's a renowned scholar of African-American history.

scholars have long debated whether there is ever such a thing as a truly selfless act

Recent Examples on the Web

The author is not the first scholar to tackle the history of America—as in the American continent, not just the United States (which keeps trying to hoard the name for itself). —Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025

The festival also offers performances by local dance or music groups, lectures by Shakespeare scholars and food offerings from Tom’s Travelin’ Coffee Truck or OneSong Biscotti. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2025

And some are just for the most obsessive Fabs scholars. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2025

However, some conservative scholars — sometimes characterized as on the fringes of American legal scholarship — affirm that the Trump administration could make a winning case to limit birthright citizenship. —Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English scoler, from Old English scolere & Anglo-French escoler, from Medieval Latin scholaris, from Late Latin, of a school, from Latin schola school

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing scholar

• Rhodes scholar

Rhymes for scholar

• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• smaller
• squalor
• taller
• trawler

Kids Definition

scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskäl-ər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special area

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

scholarly adjective