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

Knoepfler is a professor of cell biology and human anatomy at UC Davis School of Medicine and author of Lab Dish, a STAT column about regenerative medicine. — Paul Knoepfler, STAT, 30 Sep. 2026

In an essay from 2013, the Yale Law professor Jed Rubenfeld concluded that the only way out of this conundrum was to abandon consent and return to a force definition of rape. — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026

Rebecca Tushnet, a Harvard Law professor who studies trademark law, isn’t convinced. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2026

Kelly continued to work as a professor of political science at Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 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