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

Brian Avery, a legal and risk professor at the University of Florida, said investigators will look at video footage, maintenance logs and statements from witnesses and ride attendants. — Nicole Brown Chau, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Fusion equations meet robotics In nuclear fusion research, Google worked with University of Maryland professor Matt Landreman to identify a broader class of counterexamples to Grad’s conjecture, a mathematical hypothesis dating to 1967. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026

Andrew Ferguson is a law professor at George Washington University who specializes in police surveillance and the effects of the integration of AI into policing. — Jakob McWhinney, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Dessa Bergen-Cico, a professor of public health at Syracuse University who studies drug trafficking, said street prices for cocaine and fentanyl are still low, suggesting the drug flow remains unimpeded. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 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