philosopher

noun

phi·​los·​o·​pher fə-ˈlä-s(ə-)fər 

1

a

: a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment : scholar, thinker

b

: a student of philosophy

2

a

: a person whose philosophical perspective makes meeting trouble with equanimity easier

b

: an expounder of a theory in a particular area of experience

c

: one who philosophizes

Examples of philosopher in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her business-strategy forecasting was met with sarcasm and disdain — her role as pop’s leading philosopher somewhat rejected by people online. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 23 July 2026

If Sartre was the most important living philosopher, Marx was the most important dead one. — Literary Hub, 21 July 2026

Perhaps more surprisingly, Anthropic has in recent weeks also picked up a Stanford economist, a theoretical physicist from the University of Maryland, and an analytic philosopher from UT Austin. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Whether the podcasting asset bubble bursting led directly to the ascendance of YouTube and video podcasting, or was simply incidental to the inevitable growth of YouTube podcasts, is a question reserved for podcast philosophers. — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English philosophe, philosophre, from Anglo-French, from Latin philosophus, from Greek philosophos, from phil- + sophia wisdom, from sophos wise

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing philosopher

• philosopher's stone

Kids Definition

philosopher

noun

phi·​los·​o·​pher fə-ˈläs-(ə-)fər 

1

a

: a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment : scholar, thinker

b

: a student of philosophy

2

: a person who is calm and patient when faced with trouble