tutorial

1 of 2

noun

tu·​to·​ri·​al tü-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 

tyü-

1

: a paper, book, film, or computer program that provides practical information about a specific subject

2

: a class conducted by a tutor for one student or a small number of students

tutorial

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or involving a tutor or a tutorial

Did you know?

Tutorials with live tutors are useful for both advanced students and struggling ones. Many computer programs include electronic tutorials to help the new user get used to the program, leading him or her through all its functions, often by means of pictures and short videos. But a really difficult program may still require a real-life tutor to be fully understood.

Examples of tutorial in a Sentence

Noun

An online tutorial gives basic instructions for using the software.

The professor was offering a tutorial in her office a week before the exam.

Adjective

We offer tutorial instruction for students preparing for the examination.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That’s when Jack discovers the tin full of custom drugs that were left in their room by the demented chemistry major who used to live there (the reliably hilarious Sarah Sherman, appearing in a step-by-step YouTube tutorial about surviving the pills her character invented). —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 Mar. 2026

They are socialized in a world of makeup tutorials, fashion magazines, and objectifying advertisements—not to mention feminist commentary and pop songs about rejecting or healthily navigating image standards. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026

Adjective

Rawlings’s tutorial zeal seemed to derive equally from the existential stakes of the race and the candidate’s evident need of guidance. —Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026

Light switches, which have been self-explanatory since the dawn of electric lighting, apparently now come as an unlabeled multibutton panel that literally required a tutorial session from a technician. —Jason Fried, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1923, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective

1822, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tutorial

• arboreal
• armorial
• authorial
• factorial
• manorial
• memorial
• pictorial
• sartorial
• sectorial
• vectorial
• ambassadorial
• combinatorial

Kids Definition

tutorial

1 of 2 adjective

tu·​to·​ri·​al t(y)ü-ˈtōr-ē-əl 

-ˈtȯr-

: of or relating to a tutor or a tutorial

tutorial

2 of 2 noun

: a paper, book, film or computer program that gives practical information about a subject