proctor

noun

proc·​tor ˈpräk-tər 

plural proctors

: someone who supervises or monitors students:

a

US : someone who oversees student examinations

The primary job of the proctor is to monitor students to ensure they're following testing room rules and not sharing answers.

—Arika Harron

If a test proctor isn't following protocol, or test-takers haven't been given the correct amount of time, results can be skewed.

—Alizah Salario

b

British : an officer at a university who is responsible especially for disciplinary measures

At night proctors patrolled the street and dogged your steps if you tried to go into any haunt where the presence of vice was suspected.

—Samuel Butler

proctor verb, transitive + intransitive

proctored; proctoring; proctors

proctor an exam

Some of the teachers volunteered to proctor.

see also proctorial, proctorship

Examples of proctor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Darian Nikole Wilhite, a proctor at TACTIX, is alleged to have taken bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy. —Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

Ahmed Ghazi, the director of minimally invasive and robotic surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, has used Vuzix headsets for remote teaching, allowing trainees to see from a proctor’s viewpoint. —Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 15 Oct. 2024

Those who choose to take the conventional test instead can do that on a home computer, monitored by an online proctor, or at one of the computer stations in a DMV office. —Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2024

To accommodate those demands, teams will travel with tutors, learning specialists and test proctors, as needed, Hummel said. —Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English procutour procurator, proctor, alteration of procuratour

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

proctor

noun

proc·​tor ˈpräk-tər 

: a person who supervises students during an examination

proctor verb