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

Ward Churchill, the former University of Colorado professor whose writings and outspoken political views ignited a national debate over academic freedom and free speech, has died. — Jeff Gurney, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Galileo Galilei, a professor at the University of Padua, demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers. — USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026

Instructors and professors would still assign letter grades for students to know, but students' final GPAs and final transcripts for the first semester would not reflect them. — Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

So, the team collaborated with Michael Knap, a professor of collective quantum dynamics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to understand what was happening. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 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