professor

noun

pro·​fes·​sor prə-ˈfe-sər How to pronounce professor (audio)
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 noun

Examples of professor in a Sentence

Professor Williams will be teaching the class.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
He was ultimately not accepted to Columbia where his father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a professor of Government and a professor of anthropology political science and African studies. Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025 For those in New England, these and other deeds aren't forgotten, but perhaps more attention could be paid on the national level, said Dr. Robert J. Allison, professor of history at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025 The book’s authors, Mabel B. Casner, a Connecticut schoolteacher, and Ralph Henry Gabriel, a Yale professor, set out to make history matter. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 July 2025 Totality will be experienced at the 17th-century Parador de Lerma, directly on the centerline, with astronomy talks and guided viewing from veteran astronomer and eclipse chaser Alex Filippenko, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. Jamie Carter, Space.com, 4 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for professor

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of professor was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Professor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professor. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

professor

noun
pro·​fes·​sor prə-ˈfes-ər How to pronounce professor (audio)
: a teacher especially of the highest rank at a college or university
professorial
ˌprō-fə-ˈsōr-ē-əl How to pronounce professor (audio)
ˌpräf-ə-
-ˈsȯr-
adjective
professorially adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on professor

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