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

Plastic litter is a big risk to the health of marine ecosystems, and the problem is growing, said lead study author Dr. Anna Papp, an environmental economist and incoming postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 19 June 2025

But Zhou, who began the research at Duke University and completed it as a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech, found that as the ocean warms, this phenomenon is getting stronger. —Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 19 June 2025

So, a postdoctoral scientist at the museum who specializes in amphibians. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2025

Ashton is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 22 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for postdoctoral

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