mentor

1 of 2

noun

men·tor ˈmen-ˌtȯr

-tər

Synonyms of mentor next

capitalized : a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus' son Telemachus

: a trusted counselor or guide

a mentor who, because he is detached and disinterested, can hold up a mirror to us—

P. W. Keve

: tutor, coach

The student sought a mentor in chemistry.

mentor

2 of 2

verb

mentored; mentoring; mentors

transitive verb

: to serve as a mentor for : tutor

Examples of mentor in a Sentence

Noun After college, her professor became her close friend and mentor. He needed a mentor to teach him about the world of politics. We volunteer as mentors to disadvantaged children. young boys in need of mentors Verb The young intern was mentored by the country's top heart surgeon. Our program focuses on mentoring teenagers. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Landa has also called about a dozen XFL games and counts ex-NFL player Raúl Alegre as one of her mentors. —

Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023 Garp has an earlier introduction Garp is Vice-Admiral of the Marines, Luffy’s grandfather, and Koby’s mentor. —

Temi Adebowale, Men's Health, 8 Sep. 2023 His longtime mentor, the Power Rangers entrepreneur and billionaire Haim Saban, hired him fresh out of the University of California, Los Angeles, to launch Fox Kids Europe, a joint venture with Fox. —

James B. Stewart, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2023 López Obrador has put women in important positions in his Cabinet and been a mentor for Sheinbaum, even while being accused at times of male chauvinism. —

Maria Verza, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Sep. 2023 Claudia Sheinbaum, 61, the former Mexico City mayor, a physicist with a doctorate in environmental engineering, was selected Wednesday evening by the ruling party, Morena, as the candidate to succeed Mexico’s current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, her political mentor. —

Alfredo Corchado, Dallas News, 7 Sep. 2023 Now Nelson is a senior at MassArt and a mentor in the program. —

Jeremy C. Fox, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2023 Lady Gaga is continuing to pay tribute to her late collaborator and mentor Tony Bennett. —

Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 1 Sep. 2023 Campbell particularly emphasizes the crucial role of female mentors and sponsors, especially within the STEM sector. —

David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023

Verb

Taylor and Brooks previously partnered on her middle school mentoring program for girls, PowHER, which linked with his foundation, Teammates for Kids. —

Melinda Newman, Billboard, 29 Aug. 2023 Grateful to be with the Browns and his teammates throughout his ordeal, Goodwin danced, laughed and mentored his way through camp, helping young receivers such as rookie Cedric Tillman get up to speed. —

cleveland, 27 Aug. 2023 Keith was mentored on vinyl and Technics 1200 turntables in middle school, and soon the enterprising young DJ and social butterfly was putting on Seattle’s earliest hip-hop dances. —

Jonathan Zwickel, Spin, 27 Aug. 2023 Early in his career, the executive was mentored by longtime Louis Armstrong manager Joe Glaser. —

Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2023 Through small classes, close student-faculty relationships, mentored research, and practical experiences outside the classroom, the Korbel School prepares our students to be agents of change: to think critically, communicate effectively, and act creatively. —

Foreign Affairs, 9 Aug. 2023 This blend of traditional and forward-thinking methodologies encapsulates Woodward's unique approach to mentoring in the evolving landscape of branding. —

Maria Williams, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2023 The lab commissions diverse apprentices from creative nonprofit agencies who receive a grant from NBCUniversal to develop marketing assets for the company’s nonprofit partners, with mentoring from NBCUniversal employees. —

Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Aug. 2023 Losing Lillard, Simons said, would be tough to see given that the seven-time All-Star has mentored him since entering the league in 2018. —

Afentres, oregonlive, 12 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mentor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

as name borrowed from Latin Mentōr, borrowed from Greek Méntōr; as generic noun borrowed from French mentor, after Mentor, character in the novel Les aventures de Télémaque (1699) by the French cleric and writer François Fénelon (1651-1715), based on characters in the Odyssey

Note: In Fénelon's work Mentor is a principal character, and his speeches and advice to Telemachus during their travels constitute much of the book's substance.

Verb

derivative of mentor entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of mentor was in 1616

See more words from the same year