professor

noun

pro·​fes·​sor prə-ˈfe-sər 

1

: one that professes, avows, or declares

2

a

: a faculty member of the highest academic rank at an institution of higher education

b

: a teacher at a university, college, or sometimes secondary school

c

: one that teaches or professes special knowledge of an art, sport, or occupation requiring skill

professorship

prə-ˈfe-sər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of professor in a Sentence

Professor Williams will be teaching the class.

Recent Examples on the Web

Markus Stoffel, professor for climate change and natural risks at the University of Geneva, said climate change leads to the melting of both glaciers and permafrost. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026

Beijing’s playbook The commercial logic is only part of the picture, according to Usha Haley, a professor at Wichita State University who has researched Chinese state support for domestic companies and testified before Congress. — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026

This interpretation of the evidence is remiss at best, says Carlos Hernando Domingo, a professor at Spain’s University of Jaume I, whose research was cited by Yenor. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026

When Robert Stickgold, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, began to study sleep and dreams in the 1990s, scientists who studied dreams were few and far between. — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing professor

• assistant professor
• associate professor
• regius professor

Rhymes for professor

• aggressor
• assessor
• compressor
• confessor
• depressor
• hairdresser
• necessar
• oppressor
• possessor
• processor
• repressor
• successor

Kids Definition

professor

noun

pro·​fes·​sor prə-ˈfes-ər 

: a teacher especially of the highest rank at a college or university

professorial

ˌprō-fə-ˈsōr-ē-əl 

ˌpräf-ə-, 

-ˈsȯr-

adjective

professorially

-ē-ə-lē 

adverb