postdoctoral

adjective

post·​doc·​tor·​al ˌpōs(t)-ˈdäk-t(ə-)rəl 

ˈpōst-ˌdäk-

variants or less commonly postdoctorate

ˌpōs(t)-ˈdäk-t(ə-)rət 

ˈpōst-ˌdäk-

: being beyond the doctoral level:

a

: of or relating to advanced academic or professional work beyond a doctor's degree

a postdoctoral fellowship

b

: engaged in such work

postdoctoral scholars

Examples of postdoctoral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Then a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Gerber and her team found that dolphins with stronger long-term social partnerships were biologically younger than their more solitary counterparts, as measured by epigenetic markers. —Hasmik Kirakosyan, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2026

Van Genuchten and postdoctoral researcher Kaifeng Wang chose a different path. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 Jan. 2026

Before starting treatment, people should be aware of this possibility, says Sam West, PhD, a coauthor of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. —Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 9 Jan. 2026

Dror led the study over the past few years while completing her PhD at ELTE and then as a postdoctoral researcher at the Clever Dog Lab of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. —Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for postdoctoral

• epidural
• predoctoral
• deferral
• referral
• neral
• squirrel
• sural