philosopher

noun

phi·​los·​o·​pher fə-ˈlä-s(ə-)fər 

1

a

: a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment : scholar, thinker

b

: a student of philosophy

2

a

: a person whose philosophical perspective makes meeting trouble with equanimity easier

b

: an expounder of a theory in a particular area of experience

c

: one who philosophizes

Examples of philosopher in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Telling that the utopian futurists of mid-century envisioned a post-scarcity world brought about by technology, where dangerous work, boring work, routine work was done by machines, and labor itself was abolished so that all humans would be free to be artists, philosophers, writers. —Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026

More than a raconteur, Murch is a cinematic philosopher who frames technical issues in terms that get at the nature of perception. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026

The phrase originated not with Darwin but a contemporary, the philosopher Herbert Spencer, in 1864. —Sarah Digregorio, Vanity Fair, 16 Jan. 2026

The idea that seeking the truth was dangerous, that being a philosopher meant courting popular fury, no longer sounded so antique. —Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English philosophe, philosophre, from Anglo-French, from Latin philosophus, from Greek philosophos, from phil- + sophia wisdom, from sophos wise

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing philosopher

• philosopher's stone

Kids Definition

philosopher

noun

phi·​los·​o·​pher fə-ˈläs-(ə-)fər 

1

a

: a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment : scholar, thinker

b

: a student of philosophy

2

: a person who is calm and patient when faced with trouble