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

Recently completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Leeds, Shai's work examined how AI mirrors human cognitive processes and raises existential questions. —Big Think, 28 Mar. 2026

Courtesy Safa Sefidgari Entezari has a master’s degree in metals engineering and is finishing a postdoctoral program at the University of Saskatchewan, 2,000 miles and two time zones away from New Jersey. —Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026

According to Anna Feltre, a postdoctoral researcher at the INAF-Astrophysical Observatory and author of a new study about the Triangulum Galaxy, this new image is a reminder that the space between stars is far from empty. —Brett Tingley, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026

After a presentation by NMNH Director Kirk Johnson and postdoctoral fellow Sarah Johnson, representatives of the Sicangu and Oglala Lakota saw the statues off on their journey. —Christa Swanson, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for postdoctoral

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