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

Manish Kumar, a professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering and chemical engineering at UT Austin, said the goal is to simplify the recovery of lithium from complex mixtures. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026

Housing officials left the student in the room for two weeks after the accuser’s lawsuit publicly named him, prompting a professor to call the arrangement a security risk. — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026

Abbott, also professor of sleep medicine at Northwestern University, said losing an hour of sleep when clocks spring forward can hurt workplace performance. — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026

Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego, was not aware of the group, but said using a voter guide ahead of an election is a common practice. — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 27 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