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

The collection, led by Scripps postdoctoral scholar Adi Khen and professor and marine ecologist Jennifer Smith, contains more than 300 different native and non-native seaweed species from around Southern California. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2025

But the process has been unsettling for young scientists like Clara Zundel, a postdoctoral researcher at Wayne State University in Detroit. —Jon Hamilton, NPR, 15 Nov. 2025

The idea for the work came from astrobiologist Ligia Coelho, an astronomy postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. —Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 13 Nov. 2025

Timi Adediran, a research postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, said forward funding will make grants more competitive. —Surina Venkat, The Hill, 8 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for postdoctoral

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