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

The Italian philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco put it another way, theorizing that if Charlie Brown reads Freud, Mafalda reads Che Guevara. —Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 30 June 2025

That’s why the great philosophers turned their attention not just to ethics, but to governance. —Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025

In 1997, for instance, philosopher and educator Randall Dana Ulveland described introducing his four-month-old niece to the plant, just as his mother had done for him. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 27 June 2025

Machiavellianism is a psychological term that takes its name from Niccolò Machiavelli, a 16th-century Italian diplomat, philosopher and political theorist. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025

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